I stumbled onto this amazing blog last week and fell completely, head over heels, madly in love with the whole thing. I mean, seriously, how adorbs is five-year-old Scarlet?
Personally, I’m a big fan of the Mia Farrow hair-do that turns into a mohawk in a pinch (when you all get the chance to read ZIP, you’ll find out how much I love mohawks!) Absolutely perfect! Make sure you take a moment to read a little more about this Girl Adventurer-in-Training at the blog Dear Scarlet.
Today on the blog Lynne Kelley, author of CHAINED, which comes out on May 8, 2012, stops by to write about HARRIET THE SPY. Here’s a little more information about CHAINED:
After ten-year-old Hastin’s family borrows money to pay for his sister’s hospital bill, he leaves his village in northern India to take a job as an elephant keeper and work off the debt. He thinks it will be an adventure, but he isn’t prepared for the cruel circus owner. The crowds that come to the circus see a lively animal who plays soccer and balances on milk bottles, but Hastin sees Nandita, a sweet elephant and his best friend, who is chained when she’s not performing and hurt with a hook until she learns tricks perfectly. Hastin protects Nandita as best as he can, knowing that the only way they will both survive is if he can find a way for them to escape.
Lynne shares one of my favorite female adventurers of all time–Miss Harriet, of HARRIET THE SPY. Read on to learn why she loves the mischievous young spy so:
I’m not sure how often I checked out Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy from my school library, but I know my name was written on that check-out card a few times. I didn’t just want to be friends with Harriet Welsch, I wanted to be Harriet. If you lived in my neighborhood, I might have been standing outside your wooden fence, eavesdropping on your back yard conversations. (Sorry about that. It’s just business, you understand.) Like Harriet, I carried around a notebook with me and sometimes jotted down important notes about people I observed driving by, like “Bald man driving brown car. Looks suspicious.” Of course the man might have looked suspicious because of the weird girl standing there furiously scribbling notes while staring at him, but that’s beside the point.
I never knew this while reading it, but the book was considered controversial when it was first published. Harriet wasn’t well-behaved. She had flaws. But that’s probably why we loved her; we know that we’re not perfect ourselves, so it’s refreshing to find out we’re not alone. Even better, Harriet was okay with not being perfect. What a relief for anyone who’s ever felt excluded, different, or who’s said the wrong thing (and isn’t that everyone?).
Harriet wasn’t afraid to admit when she didn’t have the answers. She didn’t pretend to know things she didn’t; that takes confidence, and made her a better writer, since we can’t satisfy our curiosity if we don’t voice our questions and take time to listen to the answers.
So I still identify with Harriet Welsch, who no doubt grew up to be a writer. Isn’t that what writers do, take notes on everything we observe around us? And whether it’s a journal entry, an unedited manuscript, or an accidental “reply all” email, I’m sure everyone’s experienced the horror of having people read something not meant for public eyes, like when Harriet’s classmates found her notebook. Harriet got into some trouble for being nosy then, but it wasn’t nosiness that made her write down her observations. She just wanted to know everything. What she didn’t know yet, she’d make up a great story for.
I still carry notebooks around with me in case I see or hear something I just have to write about. But don’t worry–I’m not listening at the fence anymore. Unless I really, really need to know what’s going on over there.
We talked about our favorite spy on the blog here, so I thought that, instead of sharing a pic of the book cover, I’d include the trailer for the Harriet the Spy movie (which I loved if only because it included a teeny little pre-Buffy Michelle Trachtenburg.) Enjoy!
I love eye candy, so I thought I’d start this week with a few pics that inspired me while writing Zip!
Hot air balloons…tree houses and horses – LOVE! Looking at these photos helped me to invoke the EXACT tone I wanted to find for ZIP – whimsical, sweet and full of fun. To see more of the photos that inspired me, make sure to check out my ZIP inspiration board on Pinterest!
And check in here tomorrow for CHAINED author Lynne Kelly’s favorite girl adventurer!
Today on the blog Sarvenaz Tash, author of THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOSTS, which comes out on April 24th, 2012, stops by to write about Elizabeth Bennet. Here’s a little more information about THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOSTS:
Goldenrod Moram loves nothing better than a good quest. Intrepid, curious, and full of a well-honed sense of adventure, she decides to start her own exploring team fashioned after her idols, the explorers Lewis and Clark, and to map the forest right behind her home. This task is complicated, however, by a series of unique events—a chance encounter with a mysterious old lady has her searching for a legendary blue rose. Another encounter lands her in the middle of a ragtag gang of brilliant troublemakers. And when she stumbles upon none other than the ghost of Meriwether Lewis himself, Goldenrod knows this will be anything but an ordinary summer . . . or an ordinary quest. Debut author Sarvenaz Tash combines an edge-of-your-seat adventure, a uniquely clever voice, and an unforgettable cast of characters to prove that sometimes the best adventures of all are waiting right in your own backyard.
An intrepid girl adventurer with a thirst for adventure? LOVE it. Read on to learn more about Sarvenaz’s favorite heroines:
Oooh. I too LOVE girl adventurers and that is a very tough question. Turtle Wexler from The Westing Game and 
Hermione Granger both seriously come to mind.
I think for this one, I’ll have to go with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. I reread that book yearly and, each time, I’m struck with what a perfect heroine she is. By which I mean, she’s not perfect. She’s sometimes quick to judge and gets irritated by folly rather easily. What I also love about her is that she’s not stunningly beautiful right from page one. She’s a person who becomes beautiful to the reader and the hero through her personality: which is vivacious and witty. Not to mention, this is a girl who can deliver a zinger.
I think her wittiness and smarts is something that she shares with my main character, Goldenrod, who also cares little about what others think of her.
Learn more about Sarvenaz and her debut THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST here.
I’m am so so so so excited to share the cover of my upcoming Middle Grade novel, ZIP, with all of you lovely readers. When my editors described the art to me, they said it was Pixar meets Tim Burton–which is just exactly what I’d hoped it’d be. I seriously couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
So, without further ado….
See the sunflowers and the hot air balloons? And the art is a little small here but Lyssa’s scooter is painted yellow with little spots of blue showing through which is just exactly how I describe it in the book. Perfection.
For those of you who aren’t sure what the book is about, here’s the description (I pulled it off Amazon, FYI)
A girl discovers adventure at every highway turn in this effervescent debut that’s Savvy meets Little Miss Sunshine
After Lyssa’s mother dies, her kind but clueless new stepfather moves with her to the suburbs of Seattle in the hopes of making a fresh start. But Lyssa feels lost and adrift in the rainy Northwest without her mom. And when she finds out that her old house in Texas is about to be bulldozed, something snaps inside her. Fiercely determined, Lyssa climbs onto her scooter and sets off cross-country to save her home.
Beautifully written and sparkling with magic, Zip is a modern-day successor to Alice in Wonderland. It’s a joyful Odyssey-esque journey that’s perfect for the readers of Savvy.
ZIP comes out in stores September 27th, 2012, but you can pre-order your copy HERE.
Hey there! I’ve spent the last month gathering posts from some of my absolute FAVORITE debut writers! I’ve asked them to talk about a topic very close to my heart–female characters in Middle Grade and Young Adult literature.
Everyone has different opinions about this, and I couldn’t be more excited about the conversation that’s happening on the blog right now, whether it’s Caroline Starr Rose remembering the great Laura Ingalls Wilder, or Marissa Burt introducing us to the fantastic characters in her new book, STORYBOUND, or the heated debate that arose in the comments section of Laurisa White Reyes’s post, FINDING FEMALE IN MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY.
I hope you all will stick around and take a look at some of these fantastic posts. Make sure to tell me what you think in the comments section!
Today on the blog Marissa Burt, author of STORYBOUND, which comes out on April 3, 2012, stops by to write a little about Anne Shirley of the classic, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. Here’s a little more information about STORYBOUND:
In the land of Story, children go to school to learn to be characters: a perfect Hero, a trusty Sidekick, even the most dastardly Villain. They take classes on Outdoor Experiential Questing and Backstory, while adults search for full-time character work in stories written just for them.
In our world, twelve-year-old Una Fairchild has always felt invisible. But all that changes when she stumbles upon a mysterious book buried deep in the basement of her school library, opens the cover, and suddenly finds herself transported to the magical land of Story.
But Story is not a perfect fairy tale. Una’s new friend Peter warns her about the grave danger she could face if anyone discovers her true identity. The devious Tale Keeper watches her every move. And there are whispers of a deadly secret that seems to revolve around Una herself….
With the timeless appeal of books like A Wrinkle in Time and the breathtaking action of Inkheart, Storybound has all the makings of a new classic. Brimming with fantastical creatures, magical adventure, and heart-stopping twists, Storybound will leave readers wishing they too could jump through the pages into this enchanting fairy-tale world.
Marissa was kind enough to answer the question, which literary heroine inspired you? See what she has to say below!
What a tough question! My favorite heroine has to be Anne Shirley. She never zips around on a scooter, but she’d have 
the guts to do it! I’ve always admired Anne’s spunk and love of beauty. When I was younger I’d waltz around, wearing long skirts with my hair piled up on top of my head, looking for things with “scope for the imagination.” I discovered poetry during these Anne phases, when I’d lug a fat volume of poems that I didn’t understand and wasn’t particularly interested in out in the yard to read under a tree. Most of this was because I so enjoyed Montgomery’s character descriptions and the Prince Edward Island setting that I wanted to be a part of Anne’s world, even if it was only by dressing up and reading romantic poets. As an adult reader, I still appreciate the historical setting, and the old-fashioned familiarity of the stories makes the books feel like old friends.
This sort of desire to participate in imaginary worlds – whether it was Anne’s world or Middle Earth – influenced the concept of STORYBOUND. I loved the idea of characters carrying on with their daily lives without nosy readers peering over their shoulders all the time, and I wondered what would happen if a girl from our world fell into theirs. And so Una Fairchild was Written In to the Land of Story, and you can read all about her adventures in STORYBOUND and STORY’S E
Learn more about Marissa and STORYBOUND here!
That’s right, I’m coming to you a day later than normal. Not at all because I forgot to post yesterday (I’d never do that) but because today is Dr. Seuss’s birthday! (Isn’t that cupcake amazing! The senior publicist at the publishing company I worked for made them. I really wish she had some sort of cooking blog I could link to right now…)
Anyway, I love me some Seuss. From little Cindy Lou Hoo to Daisy Head Mayzie, Seuss is absolutely filled with amazing girl adventurers. I plan on celebrating by curling up with my favorite Seuss books…and maybe baking up some more Seussian cupcakes.
Today on the blog I’ve got something a little different–and special! Laurisa White Reyes, author of THE ROCK OF IVANORE, has stopped by talk about females in Middle Grade fantasy. She even provides us with a list of her favorite girl-centric fantasy books for kids–love it! Here’s a little more about Laurisa’s upcoming fantasy debut:
The annual Great Quest is about to be announced in Quendel, a task that will determine the future of Marcus and the other boys from the village who are coming of age. The wizard Zyll commands them to find the Rock of Ivanore, but he doesn’t tell them what the Rock is exactly or where it can be found. Marcus must reach deep within himself to develop new powers of magic and find the strength to survive the wild lands and fierce enemies he encounters as he searches for the illusive Rock. If he succeeds, he will live a life of honor; if he fails, he will live a life of menial labor in shame. With more twists and turns than a labyrinth, and a story in which nothing is as it seems, this tale of deception and discovery keeps readers in suspense until the end.
THE ROCK OF IVANORE goes on sale May 15, 2012. Read on for a fantastic, insightful post on the state of female writers and characters in the fantasy genre.
In the realm of fantasy literature, male protagonists have traditionally reigned supreme. That could be because the vast majority of fantasy novels were written by men. Authors like Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, Johnathan Swift, H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein dominated the genre all the way up to the late twentieth century when a few women fantasy authors began to emerge, such as Madeline L’Engle, Tamora Pierce, Ursula K. LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Then along came Harry Potter.
The Rowling Revolution
Today the name J.K. Rowling is synonymous with success. There isn’t a person alive in western civilization that doesn’t know about Harry Potter and his now incredibly rich and famous creator. So it may be hard to believe that in 1997 when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in the United Kingdom (The Sorcerer’s Stone in the US), Joanne Rowley’s publishers were so concerned that boys might shy away from reading a book written by a woman that they insisted she use her initials. (Since she did not actually have a middle initial, she chose ‘K’ from her grandmother’s name Kathleen). And of course, it worked. The Harry Potter franchise is the best-selling book series in history, and is cherished by both male and female readers the world over.
Rowling may not have been the first woman fantasy author, but she did do something no one else had succeeded in doing – she made it cool for boys to read books with girl heroines. Yes, Harry Potter is a boy – but he wouldn’t be worth a nickel if it weren’t for his sidekick Hermoine Granger. Hermoine is certainly not the first female fantasy heroine, but until she showed up, girls mostly read about girls, and boys mostly read about boys. Even books where there were both male and female protagonists were most often read by girls. But Harry Potter bridged that gap somehow.
Hermoine is my favorite heroine of all time. She is spunky, smart, courageous – and feminine. She is not a girl trying to act like a boy. She is all girl, so girls relate to her, and boys fall in love with her. Rowling hit on a truly magical formula.
The Gender Gap in Middle Grade Fantasy
Despite the huge success of Rowling’s books, the gender gap really vanished? Among the current list of popular middle grade fantasy novels, there are very few female protagonists. Consider the following titles: Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, The Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan, The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Johnathan Stroud, The Abhorson Trilogy by Garth Nix, His Dark Marterials by Robert Pullman, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer….see a pattern here?
Even fantasy books written by women have mostly male protagonists: Rowan of Rin by Emily Rhodda, Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, The Spiderwicke Chronicles by Holly Black, Septimus Heap by Angie Sage, and The Unnamables by Ellen Booream. And among those books with females heroines, most are paired alongside boy heroes, such as A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett, Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Rick Riordan’s The Kane Chronicles, and of course, Rowling’s Harry Potter.
Writing for Boys
Traditionally, the fantasy genre is an effective lure to get boys to read. My own book, The Rock of Ivanore: Book 1 in The Celestine Chronicles (Tanglewood Press, May 2012) is a traditional fantasy adventure with a male protagonist. Marcus is an enchanter’s apprentice who tends to botch all his spells. But when he’s sent on a quest to find the Rock of Ivanore, he must search deep within himself to find the courage and the skills necessary to face the dangers and secrets he encounters along the way. I wrote The Rock of Ivanore because at the time, my then eight-year-old son was a reluctant reader. I understood firsthand how difficult it could be to get some boys to read, so I created a story that would capture the attention and imagination of these boys. Fortunately, I have daughters, too.
The second book in the series, The Last Enchanter (to be released in 2013) introduces Marcus’s female counterpart, Lael. Lael is a lot like Hermoine Granger in that she is resourceful, determined and all girl. She also happens to be very adept at her weapon of choice – a sling. When Marcus leaves their village in order to protect the man who raised him, Lael insists on tagging along. Years earlier her mother was sold as a slave, and Lael is determined to find and free her. My hope is that The Celestine Chronicles will appeal to both boy and girl readers.
Bridging the Gap Once and For All
But the question remains, will boys pick up a fantasy novel where the protagonist – the only protagonist – is a girl? I
don’t know the answer, but maybe we’re getting there. Fifteen years post-Harry Potter, everyone knows J.K. Rowling is a woman and no one bats an eye at it. In fact, I think it is pretty safe to say that nowadays, kids (boys and girls) don’t care if a book is written by a man or a woman. And thanks to the proliferation of male/female co-protagonists, the gap between “boy books” and “girl books” is closing.
So maybe, just maybe, in the not-too-distant future it will be cool for boys to read fantasy stories starring females heroines. Here are a few current titles that just might help this prediction come true:
Tuesdays at The Castle by Jessica Day George
Dragonswood by Janet Lynn Carrey
The Chronicles of Aneador by Kristina Schram
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The Books of Elsewhere by Jaqueline West
Saavy by Igrid Law
Learn more about Laurisa and THE ROCK OF IVANORE here!
This post is a bit off the beaten path for me (and this blog). See, it’s not really about adventure in the traditional sense–but it is about Middle School which, come to think of it, is one of the most harrowing adventures any of us will ever have to face.
The other reason this post is a tad different is because the main–and arguably coolest—character in WONDER is a ten-year-old boy, August–Auggie–who was born with a facial deformity. The story follows his first year in school as he learns to deal with the other kids’ reactions to his face. It’s wonderful and beautiful and sad, but–as cool as he is–I’m not going to talk about Auggie. Instead, I’m going to talk about the ladies of WONDER. So much of this story isn’t really about Auggie at all; it’s about the people around him, how he impacts their lives, how they interact with him and how his face causes them to consider the world a little differently.
There’s August’s older sister, Via, who’s both fiercely overprotective of her little brother, and scared that she’ll spend her entire life defined by him. And there’s Summer, Auggie’s school friend and the first person to sit next to him at lunch. And August’s mom, who bravely suggested her son go to school even though it terrified her, and Via’s friend, Miranda, who calls August her brother and buys him a space man helmet.
Check out the trailer, below. And read about these amazing girl characters in WONDER. You’ll love it!
Ellie got her BA from the University of Washington and now works at a major publishing company in New York City. She believes that like rules--and hearts--some kickstands are made to be broken. ZIP is her first novel.
Ellie Rollins 