Coping with Grief and Gaining Empathy Through Story and the Lens of History

Almost unfathomably, this September 11th marks a staggering 20 years since many of us watched in horror as the iconic twin towers fell, and our nation was under attack. As many adults still work to process the shock and trauma of that day, students not yet born in 2001, grow ever more removed from the event, lacking understanding, even as they weather devastating shared traumas of their own: Mass shootings and gun drills, political unrest, and, yes, a pandemic, and the impact of the isolation of quarantine. How do we teach children to cope with such overwhelming trauma, gaining empathy and even hope through the lens of history?

One of the answers is, and has always been, story.

It is well documented that story – especially via literary fiction -- builds empathy and understanding far better than text or nonfiction ever could. Stepping into story, and the metaphorical shoes of children their own age, to "witness" that tragic day and the days after, to feel with their own hearts how we rose from grief as a nation -- as well as changed in both good and bad ways -- is one of the most instructive ways for children today to learn to cope with their ongoing grief.

For the past five years since I wrote my fictional account of two young adults, Kyle and the bird girl, persevering through the trauma of 9/11, not to mention their own personal grief and coming of age, I have visited many schools and met countless readers ages 12 – 18 who have shared how this one little story has changed their perception and helped them to understand. Readers have voiced not only a new understanding of the actual timeline of events that day, but of how important research and source and fact checking are, or how sweeping changes in technology, security and privacy took place, or how the scourge of Islamophobia took a real and dangerous foothold in our country in the aftermath.

As one student recently admitted, “I learned how horrible it was. I used to think it wasn’t that big of a deal, but now I understand.”

Comprehending the value, and necessity, of teaching 9/11, departments of education around the country, including New York, New Jersey, and Virginia have developed 9/11 curriculum, often pairing it with Holocaust teachings. Both those traumatic events in our shared history are often associated with the easy catchphrase “Never forget.” And yet, we’ve begun to. And must not. ____ To learn more about my books, and two wonderful middle grade choices, and how to bring any or all of these stories to your classrooms, you may also watch this brief video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P7fOXdwjNM&t=19s or reach out to me at g.polisner@gmail.com. To never forget, #ReadAndRemember

9/11, Pandemic & Shared Trauma: Coping with History through Story

This September 11th marks a staggering 20 years since many of us watched in horror as the iconic twin towers fell, and our nation was under attack. Many of us still grieve the shock and trauma of that day even while students in desks become ever more removed, not yet born in 2001, and, thus, without any first-hand understanding.

Now those students are experiencing shared trauma of their own: constant gun drills and mass shootings, political unrest, and, yes, even quarantine and a pandemic.


How do we cope with such trauma? How do we find new understanding through the lens of history?

One answer is STORY.

It is now well documented that story -- especially via literary fiction -- builds empathy and understanding far better than text or nonfiction ever could. Stepping into story, and the metaphorical shoes of children their own age, to "witness" that day and the days after, to feel with their own hearts how we rose from grief as a nation -- as well as changed in both good and bad ways -- is one of the most instructive ways for children today to also learn to cope with their ongoing grief, as well as to learn our true history including the good and the ugly changes that have occurred in our country since.

Nora Raleigh Baskin's award-winning NINE, TEN: A SEPTEMBER 11 STORY; Tom Rogers' ELEVEN (both for ages 9-12) and my award-winning THE MEMORY OF THINGS (ages 12+) are all stories about growing up, coping with tragedy, and so much more, each set against the unforgettable terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Watch this brief video, share it with friends and colleagues, and invite us into your classrooms to help you help your readers step into that moment and truly understand.


To never forget, #ReadAndRemember

Reach out to me on social media @gaepol or email @g.polisner@gmail.com

Friday Feedback: A True Story from Avi . . . and Character-Building.

So, as many of you know, I had a BIG birthday this week.

And what better birthday week present than to have an author participate here on my blog whose work I not only admire, but also read aloud to my own boys when they were younger!

Talk about the perks of becoming a published writer...

When Avi offered to guest host a Friday Feedback, I thought (omg! omg!) what to ask him to talk about?!?! I scrolled through his blog -- which is rich with wonderful writing information, by the way) and came across a version of this post he shares below here on Character Building. It so resonated with me, that I asked if we could head in that direction.
This was weeks ago, and, so, I was particularly excited when, last Friday, the issue came up in the comments about a character describing himself by looking in the mirror.

Like starting a story with the weather or a character waking up from a dream, it is, of course, a "common-wisdom-says" no-no to have a character describe him or her self using this technique. As I wrote in the comments, however, I have mixed feelings about this hard rule against (and most hard and fast rules for or against anything). I do believe there are times when a character -- especially a teen girl -- will look at her image in the mirror and react to what she (or she) sees, and that this action, and its reveal (the character's subjective perspective on what she sees), is right and organic for the story.

From The Summer of Letting Go.
My editor left it in, so I assume she was okay with it too.

It did get me thinking again about how hard it is to describe a character well, to figure out the right amount of description and make it occur organically.

When it comes to a character's physical description:

• How much is good and needed? 

• How much should a writer leave to the reader to fill in? And, 

• Even if you don't describe your character to a great degree in your story, do you, the writer, need to know what he or she looks like in detail, in order for that character to feel authentic and come alive on the page?

Here to talk more about this is the author of more amazing books than I can count, including in no particular order, the Newbery, and other award, winning winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Poppy, Nothing But the Truth, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, as well as the forthcoming Catch You Later, Traitor, March 2015 from Algonquin Young Readers. You'll learn more about the story below in his post!

As always, I hope you will pick up the book when it comes out and share it with your students in your classroom!

So, without further ado, here's Avi.

Here is a true story.

Of all my books, Bright Shadow, took the longest to write—fourteen years.  

Of course, I did not work on it continually all those years, but picked up, put it down, until, finally, it was done.  I was rather obsessed with it, a medieval fantasy, about a girl who is given—without her knowing it—five wishes.  In the text, there is very little physical description of the girl. 

A few months prior to the publication of the book, I dropped into my editor’s office. “So glad you came by. We just got the art for the cover of Bright Shadow.”  He held it up. I looked at it.  My instantaneous thought was, That’s not her nose.

I am not aware that I ever thought of her nose before—nor did that nose have any consequence for the story-- but unconsciously, I must have pictured her because, the artist had not depicted her nose as I had imagined it. 

Did I say anything to my editor? No.  I felt silly. But I do believe that knowing—albeit unconsciously—what my character looked like, helped me write that book.

I thought about this because my next book, Catch You Later, Traitor, will be published early next year. It is, as they say, in production.  The story is told by Pete, in the first person. Just recently, I received this note from my editor’s assistant:

“One more thing: Our art director has asked me for a physical description of Pete, to give to the jacket illustrator. I’m looking through the manuscript and not finding anything too specific. Would you mind letting me know how you picture Pete?”

In other words, though this book has been in my head—and on paper--for something like eight years, actively working on it for four years, only then was I required to think (consciously) what my lead character looks like.

I quickly wrote back (note: the story is set in 1951):

“He’s 12 years old, just about to go into his growth spurt. (His best friend, Kat, the girl in the story, is taller than he is.) But at the moment, his is youthful looking, not particularly adolescent. Rather innocent, in fact, though on the edge of growing older. Stands tall. Wants to be tall. No slouch. Wishes his voice was lower. I’d bet his hands seem a little big, likewise feet, but not his ears. Nose, blunt, round.  Round cheeks. His eyes are dark and that is the most intense aspect about him. He looks at things, people. Curious. He will be tall, (taller than his father) and on the slim side, long faced. He would like to look like a lean, hard faced movie detective…but won’t, ever. Black hair. Curly. Not particularly neat in dress or hair. Wears Converse sneakers. Lumpy vest sweaters his grandmother knits. Collared shirts. No t-shirts to school. Might have a denim Eisenhower jacket. There is nothing athletic about him—but he enjoys playing sports, punch ball, dodge ball, stoop ball—city sports. He’s a reader, but does not wear eyeglasses. There are not many laughs in the book, but I bet he has a good grin, and he likes jokes. When he is worried, it is obvious.”

 

Voila! The beautiful cover for Catch You Later, Traitor,
coming March 2015 from Algonquin YR.

My point is this: knowing your character outside your book will help you write about him—or her—inside the book.  

So, given that it's Friday Feedback, let's think and post about character today: Either a literal moment of character description that you're working with or trying to get right, or a section where you're hoping your outside knowledge of your character's physicality will help you get the inside passage right. See, as you read Avi's excerpt, if you can feel how his knowing his character physically helped him to develop the character's personality.

And, please remember the RULES: What works first, what doesn't if something doesn't, and keep it short, please. NO MORE than 5 paragraphs if short, or 3 paras. if they are long. 

My huge thanks to Avi for being here. 

Now, the first few paragraphs from Catch You Later, Traitor. Enjoy!

Catch You Later, Traitor

CHAPTER 1

The way I see it, I stopped being a kid on April 12, 1951.

That afternoon we were playing our regular afternoon recess punch ball game out in the schoolyard. I was about to smack the ball when Big Toby, who always played catcher, muttered, “Hey, Pete, that true about your parents?”

I looked over my shoulder. “What?”

“Is what Donavan said about your parents true?”

I stared at him as if he had walked off a flying saucer. Why would Mr. Donavan--our seventh grade teacher--say anything about my parents? And how come I hadn’t heard?

“Come on, Collison,” Hank Sibley yelled at me. He was near second base, which was someone’s sweater. “Stop gabbing. Recess almost up.”

He blew a huge bubble with his gum that popped as I punched a shot inside third.

Kat, the only girl playing, raced home.

Our schoolyard was cement, which meant if you slid home, you’d peel off your skin. So no sliding allowed. Anyway, Kat stomped on her geography text—our home plate--and yelled “Dodgers win!” well before the ball was thrown home.

Grinning, I stood on first base--my English reader. Next moment the school bell clanged. Recess over, we grabbed our stuff and headed back to class.

“Kicky hit,” Kat said to me.

Kat’s real name was Katherine Boyer. Some people considered her a tomboy. I couldn’t have cared less. She and I had been sitting next to each other ever since fourth grade. In fact, we did most things together—school, homework, movies, radio and TV. Her mother once said we were back and forth between apartments so much, it was hard to know who lived where. Kat was like the other half of my brain.

“Thanks,” I said, but Big Toby’s question—“that true about your parents?”—kept bouncing ‘round my head like a steel marble in a lit-up pinball machine.

We poured into Brooklyn’s Public School Number 10. The old brick building had no music room, no art room, no library, and no gym. All the same, it stank like a locker room. 

________________________  

- gae & Avi

Friday Feedback: If I Can't Go In Reverse, I'll Settle for Verse

okay, fine, that's really me swooning in winter
so what?

Meh. Groan all you want at the title of this post, I like it ;)

Anyway.

<------ This is me.

Swooning.

Lamenting the almost-end of summer.

I should really stop whining, but I can't.

Waaaaaah. I want my whole summer back.

But if it has to slip away, no one better to edge us gracefully toward fall and Back-to-School than the lovely, adorable, talented Caroline Starr Rose.

Trust me.

This is Caroline:



See what I mean?

Her first novel in verse, May B., was released to starred Kirkus and PW reviews:

I've known it since last night:
It's been too long to expect them to return.
Something's happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's determined to find her way home again.

Show More

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"If May is a brave, stubborn fighter, the short, free-verse lines are one-two punches

in this Laura Ingalls Wilder–inspired ode to the human spirit."  - Kirkus Reviews

       

I confess: My first writer-self was a poet. I didn't attempt stories or novels till adulthood.

My childhood, adolescence, and college years were spent writing poetry. I've even started two novels in verse -- well, one in verse, one with a verse component.

Yet, somehow, I'm scared of it now.

How does one turn a story from a bunch of poems to plot?

a poetic little spot in my father's gardens. . .

Well, here's the awesome thing for you (me). We've got Caroline here today, sharing just that. How she takes her stories from Poem to Plot. Here she is:


The more I write, the more I firmly believe there is no one way to write a book. I have yet to approach any of my manuscripts the same way. Here, though, are some things I’ve learned from both reading and writing verse novels:

Subject matter must be right for poetry

Some topics lend themselves more easily to poetry than others. Some subjects refuse to be written as prose. Many times an author will use verse to mimic the rhythm of the story. Here are a few books that come to mind:

Sharon Creech’s HEARTBEAT, about a girl who loves to run

Karen Hesse’s OUT OF THE DUST, where the spare language reflects the stark Dust Bowl setting

Lisa Schroeder’s FAR FROM YOU, about a girl who sings and and writes songs

         

Protagonists must be right for poetry

Often (though not always) verse novels are told from a very close first-person point of view. Such writing calls for a lot of introspection on the protagonist's part.  Other times verse is used as a way for multiple voices to be heard, almost like a Greek chorus. Here are some examples:

Thanhha Lai’s INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, about a Vietnamese girl’s efforts to understand her new American home

Karen Hesse’s WITNESS, where the Ku Klux Klan moves into a quiet Vermont town, and citizens reflect on the change they bring

Poems should be able stand alone

Each poem in a verse novel must capture one moment, scene, idea, mark of change in your character's life. Poems should also be able to function separately from the rest of the story.

Poems must contribute to the whole

When I worked through my own verse novel, MAY B., I kept a quilt in mind, treating each poem like its own square of fabric. Each patch had to be able to function separately while at the same time move the story forward. I trusted that if certain patterns and shades in my story quilt were repeated (think themes or story strands), eventually the interconnectedness would surface -- a much more organic approach than is normally taken with prose. 

Varied poem lengths

Some scenes flow, some end abruptly. Some thoughts wander, some jab. Without the structure of chapters, verse novels are simultaneously abrupt and fluid -- poem lengths can be jagged yet aide the plot in moving through scenes swiftly. It is often difficult to find a place to stop reading, as one poem often bleeds into the next.

Varied line lengths

Verse novelists play with key phrases or words they want to bring to their reader’s attention by the way they arrange words on the page. Line breaks can be used to slow down reading, to draw the eye to important phrases, and to best "speak" the poem.

Emotion and structure

The structure of a poem often communicates to readers a character’s emotional state.

How might fear look structurally?  A verse novelist might use little punctuation or words tightly packed together. Maybe the language of the poem will unfold in short bursts, reminiscent of a child peeking into a darkened room and quickly slamming the door.

Poetic form

Some verse novelists use specific types of poetry (sonnets, for example), as Pat Brisson did with her book, THE BEST AND HARDEST THING. In writing about Sylvia Plath in YOUR OWN, SLYVIA, author Stephanie Hemphill chose to mirror the format of several of Plath's poems, giving her readers a sense of the poet's style, subject matter, intensity, and character.

The visual and the aural

When I was a teacher, I used to tell my students that poetry should be seen and heard. There is something special that happens when a reader experiences seeing, hearing, and saying a poem all at once -- the fullness of the poem is discovered this way.

*If you ever feel stuck with a verse novel, find a private corner and try reading it aloud.*

Verse novels aren’t books with strange line breaks. They are stories best communicated through the language, rhythm, imagery and structure of poetry. I hope you’ve found something here that sparks your imagination and helps you move from individual poems to a complete novel in verse.

Okay, seriously, I barely want to finish this post. I want to go work on my verse novels instead. :)

Anyway, because she is not only lovely, talented and adorable, but also awesome, Caroline's Friday Feedback excerpt is, yep, a poem from one of her WIP's. A historical novel in verse. So, here we go! Friday Feedback. You know the RULES (if you've got a poem today and want to share it, go ahead! Otherwise, feel free to post 3-5 paragraphs of your WIP).

 

It’s just a pigeon, Uncle said,
his big hands folding the bit of wood into mine.
What he carved is graceful in the way
its wings rest so daintily,
its neck gently curves.
This Uncle Samuel promised me:
pigeons return to their homes
no matter how far they fly.

A bird set free might wander
but will rejoin his flock.


At first,
I believed this was Uncle’s pledge to come back to me,
but when Father said we too
would make our way to Virginia,
I thought of something else:
What if a flight of pigeons followed the wandering one,
joining him on a journey entirely new?
Returning would not mean going back
but traveling onward;
reuniting with the missing one
would make them whole again.


Home isn’t only where you live,
it is also whom you love,
like they that call across an ocean
for your return.

- Caroline (& gae)

Friday Feedback, How to Begin? And, the Lovely Carole Estby Dagg

The lovely C.E.D. in her writing shed! Look, it's
really a shed! :)

I am so lucky to have the fabulous Carole Estby Dagg** today, author of the historical middle grade novel, The Year We Were Famous.

The Year We Were Famous tells the true story of Clara Estby and her suffragist mother who, in 1896, left their home in Mica Creek, Washington to walk to New York City to win a bet of $10,000 to save their family farm.

It has been included on the 2012 Amelia Bloomer list for Best Books for Youth with significant feminist content!

Did you hear a similarity in the author's and character's names? That's because Clara was Carole's Great Aunt, and her mother, Helga, Carole's Great Grandmother.

The research Carole did for the book is astonishing, and you can read all about it HERE.


I invited Carole (and all my Class of 2K11 - now Graduates -- peeps) to join me when they can for Friday Feedback, and Carole is kind enough to be popping in to talk about How to Begin.

So, here you go, in Carole's own words:

According to the king in Alice in Wonderland, telling a story is simple:

“Start at the beginning, go to the end, then stop.”

Easy for the king to say.

I must have written at least twenty opening chapters for my first book, starting at different points in the narrative, narrating from different points of view and with different voices. Books for writers offered conflicting advice or advice which conflicted with my memory of how some well-known authors had opened their successful books:

Start at a high point of action and explain how your characters got there later.

Don’t start with high action; let your readers get to know your character first.

Start with conversation.

Don’t start with conversation.

Never start a book or a chapter with your main character waking up.

Never start with the weather.


I gave up on books about writing and instead pulled random books from my shelves in the study to see directly how successful writers had started their books; here’s a sample:


"One hundred thirty-six days before.
The week before left my family and Florida and the rest of my minor life to go to boarding school in Alabama, my mother insisted on throwing me a going-away party."
- Looking for Alaska, by John Green


"It was a dark and stormy night.
In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind."
- A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle


"It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen."
- The Giver, by Lois Lowry


There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in Texas. That was over a hundred years ago. Now it is just a dry, flat wasteland.There used to be a town of Green Lake as well. The town shriveled...”
- Holes, by Louis Sachar


"June 21, 1895
Bombay, India
'Please tell me that’s not going to be part of my birthday dinner this evening.'
I am staring into the hissing face of a cobra. A surprisingly pink tongue slithers in and out of a cruel mouth while an Indian man whose eyes are the blue of blindness...”
- A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray


Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling


One book starts with a weather cliche, another with conversation. Most introduce the main character in the first three lines, but notable exceptions start with setting. So what are the rules?

Are there any rules? It’s enough to make Schroeder bang his head on the piano.


It hurts to put a doodle draft out in the world for comment, but because Gae is a dear friend, I’ll do it for her. Here’s one take at an opening for my current work in progress, a middle grade historical novel tentatively titled Northward Ho!

*Warning alert: Carole's own questions for Friday Feedback (my usual one's being: does it hook you, why or why not? What works? What doesn't work? But, hey, go with hers ;)*

"What else I should have told you about  my main character? Which details were useful, which were not? Should I have had conversation or interaction with other characters sooner? Too much setting? Any other suggestions?

(You know the rest of the rules. If you want the same feedback, place a brief excerpt in the comments and Carole or I will chime in -- maybe both if you're (un) lucky! ;))

Enjoy Carole's excerpt!:

November, 1934 - Little Bear Lake, Wisconsin


     Trip Johnson dragged a hatchet across the yard toward a pumpkin as big as a pickle barrel. She stumbled over an icy hillock of mud where her mother’s roses had been uprooted to make way for potatoes. She trudged past the skeletons of pole beans clinging to the trellis where sweet peas used to climb.

     Wind howled and tossed the tire swing, slapped the shutters, and whipped her skirt around her knees. It snatched phrases from her twin sisters’s recital duet which escaped through the crack in the parlor window and swirled them into the eddies of wood smoke from a dozen near-by chimneys. If Trip had not been the only unmusical Johnson she could have been inside with her sisters, warm. She would not have to attack that gosh-awful pumpkin like a lumberjack.

     She raised the hatchet over her head and heaved it down with her full weight of seventy-three pounds behind it. The blow reverberated up her arms and clear through her shoulders to her jaws. After several more assaults she finally hacked off a piece light enough to wrestle into the kitchen.

***

Huge thanks to Carole Dagg for doing Friday Feedback with me today! If you guys need more rules, click on this link HERE to the original Friday Feedback.

*Carole Estby Dagg is the author of The Year We Were Famous, an historical novel based on the true story of a teen and her mother who walked four thousand miles across Victorian America to save the farm and prove women could do it. Under the supervision of a bossy cat, Carole writes in Everett, Washington, and a converted woodshed on San Juan Island.