WRITING CONNECTIONS WITH KATHRYN ERSKINE

by Mary Quattlebaum

A warm welcome to Kathy Erskine, whose kind spirit and sense of social justice shines through all her novels, including National Book Award winner Mockingbird.  I’ve long known Kathy and admired her nuanced characterizations of young people trying to create positive change.  Her latest novel, Seeing Red (Scholastic, 2013, ages 10-14), continues in that tradition.

Set in 1972, Seeing Red explores themes of individual and social responsibility.  The rich historical details ground the reader in this changing place and time.  Protagonist Red Porter’s Virginia world is rocked when he discovers a long-held family secret.  How will he ever be able to right the terrible wrong committed by his great-great grandfather?  See Kathy’s website www.kathrynerskine.com for Common Core connections and teachers’ guides and try her writing prompt below.

What was your greatest joy in writing Seeing Red?  Your greatest challenge?

The greatest joy, as always, was bringing the characters to life.  This book has a long history and lay dormant for quite a while but the characters kept calling to me. When I opened the story and revived them, it really was a joy.  I think the greatest challenge was waiting -- waiting for it to gestate, develop and become the book I want to publish.

You are a popular speaker at schools and conferences, Kathy. Do you have a writing prompt or suggestion that might connect with the book?

I think it'd be great to have writing prompts that help readers understand and connect with the time period (1972), and particularly to see that things aren't all that different.  Kids are still kids.  We all still make mistakes.  We all have power over our own actions.  I'd say comparing your school to Red's school would be an easy one, or which TV shows today are actually a social commentary (like M*A*S*H in 1972), or how songs today address racism and inequality and how that compares with the songs of the early 1970's, or what political events were happening in 1972 that are only lightly mentioned in Seeing Red (Vietnam War, Presidential election and Watergate, Women's Liberation).  I could go on but I'll stop now!

What are you working on now?

I'm working on quite a few books right now (picture books, a young middle grade, and a teen road trip novel) but the one I'm finishing up at the moment is a middle grade adventure set in the Middle Ages.  It'll be out next September but we don't have a good title yet.  I'm going to follow the journey of Adrian, the main character, in a few weeks as I walk along Hadrian's Wall in England.  I'm hoping I'll "find" the title while I'm walking in his shoes.

Wishing you an inspiring walk with your character in England, Kathy, and thanks for visiting Pencil Tips!

www.maryquattlebaum.com

WORKING THROUGH MISTAKES

 by Joan Waites

During class last week, one of my little art students was in tears because she made a mistake while working on a drawing exercise. She furiously scribbled over it, declaring that she wanted to throw it away. To make matters worse, she was sitting next to another student, who executed each drawing with ease. Though I gave her several pointers, assured her that this was just practice and encouraged her to not worry about it and just do the best she could, nothing eased her frustration.  Switching gears, I showed her how to turn those unintended marks into something else….a fish, a flower, and a beach ball. The tears dried up and she happily completed the rest of the exercise.

Learning to turn a “mistake” into something that works in a painting, drawing or other artistic endeavor can be a hard concept for young children to grasp. Even an older child, who has worked diligently on a piece and then has a paint spill, can be just as upset. Ink blobs, paint splatters, or having a classmate accidentally knock your beloved sculpture to the floor can happen daily in any art room. So how can you teach children to roll with mistakes instead of giving up?

A picture book I have found helpful in addressing this problem in the art classroom and beyond is: Beautiful Oops, by Barney Saltzburg, (Workman Publishing Company; September 23, 2010)

This book explains to children how a mistake--a ripped paper, a paint splatter, a smudge and more can be turned into an unexpected opportunity to make something beautiful.

A fun exercise to try with students that demonstrates this concept is the following:

Creating Imaginary Creatures

1.     Using any type of fluid water based paint, place a large wet “blob” in the middle of the page.

2.     Slowly turn the page upside down and left to right until you achieve an interesting shape.

3.     After the paint has dried, study the shape from all angles and pick an interesting view.

4.     Using a black marker or additional paint, turn your shape into an imaginary animal, monster or mythical creature. The results can be quite spectacular!

When a child makes a perceived mistake, first try to work with them to incorporate the “oops” into the art. Of course, as with all endeavors, sometimes you just have to start over. However, after working through a few mistakes and achieving positive results, students will likely be less frustrated and even proud when they come up with a solution to their “oops!”

 www.joanwaites.com