Thursday, September 27, 2018

Monday, September 24, 2018

Girls and Bullying


Photo courtesy of: Alexas_Fotos; courtesy of Pixabay


This is a follow-up piece to my article, “Bullying In Schools”.

During my recent interview with Jedlie from Reading With Your Kids, he asked me a serious question about bullying, “Why have girls become more physically aggressive?” In all honesty, I wasn’t able to answer his question accurately, but it did shine a light straight through the holes in my understanding of bullying. Since I was unable to answer Jedlie’s question, I decided to dig deeper into the subject of girls and bullying and fill in the gaps with the information I was lacking.

It is well known that bullying is a serious social issue that exists between male and female students. While male bullying is typically more physical, both sexes can be aggressive in their methods to dominate. Bullying among girls is commonly known to manifest as cyberbullying, verbal bullying, and social/relational bullying. These subtler categories often go unnoticed when compared to their more visible counterparts.

But, I still haven’t answered the original question, why have girls become more physically aggressive?

Could more aggressive female characters being cast in pop culture factor into the rise of combative behaviors among girls? According to an article by, Kimberly Pleva M.S.E., girls getting more media attention for committing violent crimes is a big contributor to this trend and needs our attention. Fatherly states, that the environments boys and girls share and generations of abuse are a result. In his book, See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More Violent and What We Can Do About It, James Garbarino, an authority on juvenile violence and aggression, explores this issue at length. His analysis suggests that one factor contributing to this rise in aggression among girls correlates to the rise in competitive female sports. Sports have allowed girls to express themselves physically but hasn’t taught them how to channel violent behaviors appropriately.

Relatively speaking, physical aggression among girls is still lower when compared to boys, but has risen to almost the same levels.

In conclusion, it seems that society’s values are a definite contributor to the rise in aggression among girls. It rests squarely on the shoulders of society to come together and instruct girls and boys on appropriate behavior and how harmful actions, no matter which forms they take, can have negative consequences and hurt another deeply.


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Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Interview With Author Anne Miranda


Photo courtesy of: Anne Miranda

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing multi-award winning author and illustrator, Anne Miranda.

I was particularly delighted when Anne agreed to do an interview with me. Many of her picture books lined the library shelves in my classroom and were a treat to read to my students.

Born in the United States, Anne has spent the last twenty-four years living in Spain and raising her children.

She has two grown sons; the youngest one is an illustrator with whom she collaborates. 

An all around creative spirit, Anne has quite an impressive literary resume that includes: Night Songs, To Market, To Market, Beep! Beep!, Glad Monster, Sad Monster! and Who Said Boo? 

Anne's books have also been recognized for outstanding writing and illustrating, earning her many awards such as, the 1999 Parents' Choice Gold Award and an Abby Honor.

Now that you've been introduced to Anne, let's get to know more about this enterprising woman.




Hello, Anne and welcome to Lemon Drop Literary. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.

Thank you for having me.



What inspired you to be a writer?

I was raised by my mother and grandmother. When I was little, my grandmother worked at Korner & Wood, an elegant turn-of-the-last century bookstore, in Cleveland, Ohio.  

My mother was a first grade teacher and then went into publishing when I was a teen.  Our house was chock full of books.

I particularly loved picture books and clever rhyming books and songs. I still do.  I basically write books that are a combination of these two genres. 



Is writing your full-time profession?

Yes and no. I work part time, but writing is my only source of income. 

How long have you been writing?

Off and on, since I was in university.

Which genres do you write?

Picture books and educational materials.


Photo courtesy of: Anne Miranda 

What do you find most challenging about writing for your genre?

Coming up with an idea.  I detest staring at a blank page.  I prefer having an assignment from a publisher.

With a framework, writing is more like doing a puzzle.  It’s much easier to problem-solve than to invent from scratch.

How many books have you written?

17 trade books. Many little books, stories and other materials for educational publishers.  I have no number to report.

What has been your most rewarding experience since publishing your work?

Once in a blue moon, I hear from a reader.  That’s great.


Photo courtesy of: Anne Miranda

What advice would you give to authors just starting out?

Be born into a publishing family, if at all possible. I was lucky. I was drawn into the publishing world by my mother, who was first an editor at J.B Lippencott, then at Scholastic, and finally managing editor and VP at Kirchoff/Wohlberg.

I worked with and for her until she retired at the tender age of 80.  I am still represented by Ron Zollshan at Kirchoff/Wohlberg.

The only other advice I might have is to forge ahead. These days, it’s possible to self-publish and a beginning writer can get his or her work into the marketplace without having to pass a publisher’s ridged standards.

If a writer plans to go the traditional trade book route, get a very good rep. It’s next to impossible these days to get a manuscript read by a major publisher without one.   

Can you tell us a little about Crazy Cow Designs?

I design T-shirts and other print-on-demand items Zazzle as the Crazy Cow.

It helps to keep my mind and my hands busy and hones my Photoshop skills. Many of the items have illustrations I did for Night Songs and Does a Mouse Have a House?

What inspired you to start The Niceness Network?

I’m from the mid-west and from an era where folks were just plain nice to each other all the time. I think it’s a good habit to choose and to foment.

I started the Niceness Network as a way to celebrate the positive things that are happening in the world, and the good that people do for one another. 


Photo courtesy of: Anne Miranda

Is there anything else you'd like your readers to know about you?



I'm the mother of two fantastic guys, who are now all grown up. They both played basketball and I spent most of the last twenty years taking them to practice and going to games.

I started a barbershop group in Madrid called, The Barbees, many years ago with some friends. The group has grown and has won three gold medals in Spain.


In addition to writing, I also paint, illustrate, do assorted crafts, garden, cook, and I love to dance. I'm very earthy-crunchy.



Can you tell us about any new releases coming out?

My newest book is Tangled, illustrated by Eric Comstock, published by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books. It's on their Spring 2019 list.

What are you working on now?

My younger son is an illustrator and a great source of ideas for projects. We are collaborating on a YA fantasy novel of his imagination, and a picture book I wrote that he is illustrating.   

How has living in Spain influenced your writing?

That’s hard to answer.  Living here has taken me far away from my audience and from the writing and publishing community. I work in a vacuum.   

What are your favorite books, movies, TV shows?



My favorite book is Wind in the Willows. I am a massive Harry Potter addict. I'm a fan of fantasy, and sci-fi movies and TV shows: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and so on.

As a mother of sons, I saw all of the super hero movies, a fair amount of Anime, all of the Disney and Pixar movies, and every action movie ever filmed. We consume a huge amount of media at my house.




Where can we learn more about you?



Thank you, Anne, for spending time with us and sharing your story. We wish you lots of luck in the future and continued success!




Photo courtesy of: Anna Miranda

Friday, September 14, 2018

Book Review Of Women Who March By: Adena Raub Dershowitz



Author: Adena Raub Dershowitz
Illustrator: Heather Workman
Publisher: Adena Dershowitz
ISBN: 9780692053782
Length: 28 pages
Rating: 5 Lemon Drops

A child-friendly story of the 2017 Women's March with an inclusive message.



Review:


Through simple rhyme, Dershowitz, presents a complex topic about a historical day in an easy to understand format for children.

The illustrations and verse enable the reader to effortlessly journey with the character as she marches through the pages, while teaching us about diversity and inclusiveness.

Not only does the book pay tribute to this important day in a respectful and thoughtful way, the events are presented accurately:

the signs, the flags, the messages, the unity of people, from all walks of life, lifting up their voices to demand equality and fair treatment for everyone, as well as, drawing attention to the rapid environmental changes we are experiencing; I witnessed similar sights at many marches.

One unifying theme I particularly enjoyed, was the encouragement of children to get involved in the political process and the list of age-appropriate ways for them to accomplish this task.

I feel this expectation offers wonderful validation to children as citizens of the world.

Another element I appreciated was the suggestion that children ask questions.

In an age where facts have been diminished or downright ignored, it is crucial that children learn to think for themselves. 

Heather Workman's soft-hued illustrations are charming, appealing, diverse, and offer a wonderful element to the book.

Children will enjoy viewing the positive images of people of all colors smiling and working together to make the world a better place.

As an early childhood teacher, I would definitely use this book for social studies lessons on cooperation, acceptance, social activism, and current events followed by the meaningful conversations this book so clearly provides.

I highly recommend!
Women Who March on Amazon.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.



Monday, September 10, 2018

Book Review of Wishtree



Author – Applegate

Illustrator – Santoso

Publisher – Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC

ISBN – 3 2222 08940 4232

Pages – 225

Released – September 26, 2017

Format – hardback, Kindle, paperback, library binding, audible audiobook

Reviewer: Ellwyn Autumn

Rating: 5 Lemon Drops




Katherine Applegate’s children’s novel, Wishtree, is a heartwarming story, told in the first person point-of-view of the character named Red. Red is a two hundred-sixteen-year-old northern red oak that has lived in a typical American neighborhood all of its life. During this time, the wish tree has witnessed many newcomers’ plights as they struggled for acceptance among the established residents.

Early on in her lifetime, Red became a wish tree. A wish tree or raggy tree is an old Irish custom where, on the first of May, people write their wishes onto strips of fabric and tie them to the limbs of a tree. The tradition in Red’s neighborhood started when, Maeve, a lonely Irish girl, hung her wish from one of Red’s branches. As time wore on, the tradition spread until every year people from various ethnicities adorned Red with their wishes.

One day Red’s world forever changes when someone carves the hateful word “leave” into its trunk. The mean-spirited graffiti is a message directed at a new Muslim family who moved into the neighborhood. Samar, the daughter in this family, is a quiet, lonesome girl, who like so many others, sits beneath Red’s canopy and befriends the old tree. One night, Samar, hangs a piece of fabric on one of Red’s branches. The fabric contains Samar’s dearest wish—she longs for a friend.

When Red’s owner, Francesca, sees the ugly blemish carved into Red’s trunk she decides its time to finally have Red cut down. Francesca has wanted to have Red cut down for years. She is tired of enduring Red’s bothersome roots, raggy wishes, and fallen leaves and acorns.

Aware that its life may soon be ending, Red doesn’t squander the time it has left. In a selfless gesture, Red enlists the help of it’s best friend, a crow named Bongo, to ensure that Samar’s wish comes true. Will Red and Bongo be able to grant Samar’s wish? Will Red survive the threat of being cut down? If you wish to have your questions answered, you’ll find them all in the lively pages of this delightful and tenderhearted book.

Once again Newberry Medal winner, Katherine Applegate, delivers a poignant story that raises social and ethical awareness for animals, people, and the environment. Illustrator, Charles Santoso’s, cover illustration and black and white sketches, capture Applegate’s eloquent literary style and add an extra sweetness that compliments the story perfectly. Like the characters of Red and Bongo that they’ve brought to life, the two artists are a wonderful pair.

From the very first line, Applegate draws you into the life of Red and it’s many community members. Weaving a tapestry of humor and heartache, Applegate captures the flaws and strengths of the human spirit, as well as, the blessings that true friendship can bestow.

I can’t wait to read Wishtree again. I highly recommend it!