Thinking About 2009-2010
July 10, 2009
New Links to New Learning and author Pat McKissack are working on bringing new programs to her videoconferenching line-up, as well as keeping some of the favorites. We’ll be introducing some new formats and content options… make sure check back soon to see what she’ll be offering during the 2009-2010 school year through Cooperating School Districts!
NAACP’s “100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans”
June 15, 2009
Authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack are included on the NAACP’s list of “100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
‘Patricia C. McKissack is on her soapbox. It’s the one she gets on time and again when she has a chance to talk about the importance of reading.
“It is the doorway to freedom. If you can read, you can overcome about any obstacle,” said McKissack, who has been writing children’s books since 1981, including last year’s “Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters and other Wily Characters.”
Sometimes her husband, Fredrick McKissack, serves as co-author. Often, he is researcher. In some fashion, they have collaborated on about 100 books, many of them well-received and well-reviewed, notably, “Black Hands, White Sails.” Patricia McKissack said there was a void in children’s literature — the African-American experience.
“People ask me: ‘Do you write about anything else?’ I still could not write all the books that could be written. Things have been marginalized. Our work is cut out for us.”
They work out of their Chesterfield home, shouting ideas from one room to the next. Their next book will probably have a science fiction story line. Their son, John Patrick, an engineer, is serving as a consultant.
Who inspires McKissack? The children she writes for. “They keep me going. They keep me grounded, open up doors that we as adults closed long ago.”‘
Great Summer Reads!
May 13, 2009
This was a popular post from last spring, so I thought I’d (re)share it again with our readers. Students, teachers, parents! Need something to read this summer?
Here’s a list of books, compiled by award winning authors Patricia and Fred McKissack (and written by them!) that you might like to try…
BOOKS by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack
Picture Books (ages 3-10)
The Honest-To-Goodness Truth
Goin’s Someplace Special
Precious and the Boo Hag
Short Story Collections (10-up)
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
Porch Lies: Tales of Humor and Exaggeration
Middle Grade Novels (8-12)
Run Away Home
Friendship for Today
Dear America Series
- A Picture of Freedom–the Diary of Clotee a Slave Girl 1859
- Color Me Dark–the Diary of Nellie Lee Love, 1919
- Look to the Hills- during the French and Indian War
Chapter Books (8-11)
Scraps of time Series
- Abby Takes a Stand
- Away West
- A Song for Harlem
Miami Series
- Miami Gets It Straight
- Miami Makes the Play
- Miami Sees It Through
Award winning author Patricia McKissack has sound advice for would-be writers, particularly African Americans: “Today I would be appalled if a teacher told a child that he or she can’t make a living as a writer, because you can. It’s hard work, but you can make a living. And we need more black voices; we need different points of view.” (http://www.eduplace.com)
Another book we’d like to feature in the McKissack book collection is Red-Tailed Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Co-authored with her husband and writing partner Fred, Pat tells the story of Tuskegee Airmen.
Product Description from Publishers Weekly:
The McKissacks (Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters) add to their distinguished explorations of African American history with a well-researched, informative look at the only all-black flying unit to serve in WWII. Established in 1941, the pilot-training program at Tuskegee, Ala., had been designed as an “experiment,” without full military support to ensure its success and with many officers predicting utter failure. Despite segregated facilities at the base, hostile reactions from the locals and other demoralizing conditions, the aviators trained at Tuskegee went on to fly hundreds of missions over North Africa and Europe. They were known as Red Tails for the designs on their planes; they earned the nickname Red-Tail Angels with their reputation for staying with the bomber planes they escorted. The pilots of the 332nd division, the McKissacks point out, never lost a bomber-a record unmatched by any other group in the Army Air Force. As the McKissacks outline the history of the squadron, they also tell the larger story of racial tension and bigotry in the U.S. Numerous photos, from both military archives and individual fliers, depict the pilots and their deeds. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: WALKER AND COMPANY (Sep 17 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0802782922
- ISBN-13: 978-0802782922
To learn more about the Red-Tail Angels, visit http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/.
Top Posts for Can You Imagine?
April 15, 2009
As of mid-April 2009, here are the top five visited posts for Patricia McKissack’s Writer’s Workshop Blog, Can You Imagine?
5. Summer Book Recommendations
4. 2008 Winter Holidays Around the World Workshop
McKissack Book: Can You Imagine?
April 9, 2009
Patricia McKissack
The New Links to New Learning author of the Newbery Honor Book, The Dark Thirty, describes her life, how she became a writer, how her family helps with her writing, and how she gets her ideas.
This is a very unique book- Can You Imagine? - in Patricia McKissack’s collection of over one hundred books- it is a book by her, on her! She chose to name this blog after it, too.
Can You Imagine? was published in 1997.
McKissack Book: Mirandy and Brother Wind
April 7, 2009
Published in 1988, Mirandy and Brother Wind is another book in author Patricia McKissack’s collection. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, and written by Pat, Mirandy and Brother Wind is the winner of the following awards:
WINNER 1988 – Caldecott Honor Book
WINNER 1988 – Coretta Scott King Author Award
WINNER 1990 – Arkansas Charlie May Simon Master List
Product Details:
ISBN: 0679883339
ISBN-13: 9780679883333
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Age Range: 4 to 8
Synopsis: “Mirandy is sure she’ll win the cake walk if she can catch Brother Wind for her partner, but he eludes all the tricks her friends advise. This gets a high score for plot, pace, and characterization. Mirandy sparkles with energy and determination. Multi-hued watercolors fill the pages with patterned ferment. A treat to pass on to new generations.”– (starred) Bulletin, Center for Children’s Books.
McKissack Book: The Honest-to-Goodness Truth
April 3, 2009
After promising never to lie, Libby learns that it’s not always necessary to blurt out the whole truth either… The Honest-to-Goodness Truth is another book from Patricia McKissack’s library. Published December 2002 by Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, this book (illustrated by Giselle Potter) tells the story of a little girl named Libby.
Synoposis:
“When Libby gets in trouble for lying to her mother, she resolves to start telling only the truth. She begins by letting everyone know that her best friend, Ruthie Mae, has a hole in her sock. Then she tells the teacher that Willie hasn’t done his homework. Now it seems like everyone’s mad at her, and Libby can’t figure out what she’s done wrong. Children will sympathize with Libby as she struggles to figure out that while telling a lie is always wrong, there’s a right and a wrong way to tell the truth.”
From Children’s Literature:
Libby “was surprised at how easy the lie slid out of her mouth, like it was greased with warm butter.” Libby is caught not telling the truth and her Mama punishes her. From that day on, Libby vows “From now on, only the truth…” Unfortunately, as Libby soon learns, the truth can sometimes be hurtful and she ends up alienating her best friend, classmates and her favorite neighbor Miz Tusselbury. The humorous illustrations have a folk-art quality, and they make this lesson for young kids quite palatable. Libby and other young readers will get a better understanding of just how and when one should say truthful things, while never losing sight that “the honest-to-goodness truth is never wrong.”
McKissack Book: The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll
March 26, 2009
Here is another book in the Patricia McKissack collection for your reading pleasure! Published in 2007 by Random House Children’s Books, The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll was written by Pat and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
The New York Times reviewed: “Inspired by a true story, The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll is an evocative book with a universal message” and The Washington Post commented: “Jerry Pinkney’s lovingly detailed, pencil-and-watercolor illustrations reveal a humble but lively place where the family members and their colorful clothes stand out from subdued brown-and-gray surroundings.”
Synopsis
IT’S CHRISTMAS, AND NELLA is beside herself with excitement! She and her sisters have been given a real gift – a beautiful Baby Betty doll. But it’s hard to share something you’ve waited your whole seven-year-old life for, and Nella grabs the doll for herself. It isn’t long before she discovers that a doll can’t do the fun things she and her sisters do together. So, as Christmas day fades, Nella shares it with her sisters. Set in the Depression era South, here’s a heartwarming story that captures the essence of the holiday.
Product Details
- ISBN: 0375837590
- ISBN-13: 9780375837593
- Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
- Age Range: 4 to 8
A few days ago, I mentioned the Black Rep does a stage production of Pat’s book, Porch Lies. Our friends at RoundTrips are producing a videoconference on that play! Here’s more information on the distance learning program, which takes place next month:
As part of its continuing collaboration with HEC-TV Live!, RoundTrips is very pleased to announce a new, free videoconference with the St. Louis Black Repertory Company. Explore the world of theatre, ask questions of actors, directors and designers, and see live excerpts from the Black Rep’s touring productions of Porch Lies.
The Black Rep Presents: Porch Lies
Date: April 14, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time
Grade Level: Grades 2-6
About the Videoconference: Join RoundTrips and HEC-TV Live! from the rehearsal space of the St. Louis Black Repertory Company to enjoy excerpts from their touring performance of Porch Lies, adapted by Linda Kennedy from Patricia McKissick’s endearing book. Meet the actors and director who bring the story to life. View a performance of scenes from the show. Ask your questions of what it means to “act a part.” How do the actors prepare? How do they create a character? What does the director do? What’s it like to stage a touring production in a variety of different places? Participants will meet actors, director, and designers to discuss how the show came to life from the first phase of design to the final phase of implementation. Ask your questions of actors, directors and designers who are part of America’s largest professional African-American theatre company.
About the Play: Side-splittingly funny, spine-chillingly spooky, this sequel to a Newberry Honor-winning anthology is filled with bad characters who know how to charm. It takes us back to McKissick’s own childhood when she would listen to stories told on her front porch. . . to the captivating introductions to each tale, in which the storyteller introduces himself and sets the stage for what follows. . . to the ten entertaining tales. In “The Best Lie Ever Told,” meet Dooley Hunter, a trickster who spins an enormous whopper at the State Liar’s Contest. In “Aunt Gran and the Outlaws,” watch a little old lady slickster outsmart Frank and Jesse James. And in “Cake Norris Lives On,” meet a man some folks believe may have died up to twenty-seven different times!
TO SIGN UP FOR THIS VIDEOCONFERENCE, contact RoundTrips.
