Back to School: THE BEST LAID PLANS . . . Bringing THE PULL OF GRAVITY into your classroom

Back to School? Teach OF MICE AND MEN?

Looking for a contemporary companion?

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE PULL OF GRAVITY AND OF MICE AND MEN:   People often ask why I incorporated John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men into my contemporary young adult novel, The Pull of Gravity. The short answer is that it was part intention, and part serendipity.

The Pull of Gravity follows teens Nick Gardner and Jaycee Amato who, armed only with the wisdom of Yoda, a rare first-edition copy of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and the vaguest of plans, embark on a secret road trip to try to keep a promise to the Scoot, their dying friend.

With the words “vaguest of plans,” those familiar with Of Mice & Men will already recognize a glaring connection between the works: In both stories, plans go awry, and, in the course of the unraveling, Nick and Jaycee (like Lennie and George) learn some valuable, if at times painful, life lessons.

Intention vs. serendipity.

When I started writing The Pull of Gravity, I knew first and foremost that I wanted to write a character-driven piece, the ilk of which I read as a kid from the likes of Zindel, Blume, Konigsburg. To me, character-driven means that the characters are *the* reason you want to know the story, and not the other way around, with the plot driving the story. As Nick and Jaycee formed on the page, I thought, ‘how better to see if Jaycee is as persuasive and intriguing as I want her to be (and the chemistry between the two teens as real as I hope), than by seeing if she can *sell* the merits of an often-taught work of classic literature to Nick, a 15-yr old boy.’ Hence, the muse-driven idea of incorporating a classic novel into my debut was born.

But which piece of classic literature to choose? That is where intention factored in, and the connections between The Pull of Gravity and Of Mice and Men began to take shape.

Why Of Mice and Men?

The main reason I chose Of Mice and Men was for the theme of friendship that reverberates through it. Indeed, the ending of Of Mice and Men may contain the ultimate act of friendship to be found in modern literature. Likewise, friendship is the main theme in The Pull of Gravity. Nick and Jaycee need each other, and their friendship buoys them through a time of change, heartache and pain.

I’ve also attempted to keep some structural similarities between the pieces. Of Mice & Men is a short work of fiction – a novella at 107 pages. George and Lennie’s story takes place over a mere four days. They set out on a Thursday and the story concludes on a Sunday.

While The Pull of Gravity is a longer work at 208 pages, the time frame of the story is brief, and the main part of Nick and Jaycee’s journey, to wit, their time in Rochester, NY, also unfolds Thursday through Sunday.

When I go into classrooms, I love to talk to students about how Steinbeck was able to create so much empathy for, and connection to, his characters in the space of so little time (and so few words) – the reader gets to know George and Lennie and, more importantly, to care about them, in not much more than a mere breath.

Similarly, Nick and Jaycee’s relationship unfolds quickly; they become important to one another – and, I hope to the reader— over a brief period.

Other Common Themes

- The American Dream (“Everybody Wants a Place of their Own”). Both The Pull of Gravity and Of Mice and Men deal with the desire to attain the American Dream: work that is bearable (if not more) and a small patch of land that feels like home. In The Pull of Gravity, Nick’s father is unable to attain this goal, to balance metropolitan career aspirations with his family’s move to the suburbs, which is one of the failures that spurs the main action of the book. Similarly, Jaycee is relegated to her mother’s new husband’s gaudy house, and, moreso, to the fluffy pink bedroom of the new husband’s daughter that will never feel like home.

Disability. 

Of Mice and Men illuminates the prejudices suffered by Lennie because of his mental disability, but also the challenges for George, his friend, in trying to care for him. In The Pull of Gravity, the Scoot has a physical, rather than mental, disability, and while he doesn’t suffer the direct prejudices Lennie does, Nick – just like George with Lennie – grapples with his role as a loyal friend versus obligated caretaker. Of course, ultimately, his love and loyalty shine.

Loss & Loneliness. 

The Pull of Gravity opens with this quote from Of Mice and Men:

“Lennie broke in. ‘But not us! An’ why? Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.’ He laughed delightedly.”

This quote epitomizes the friendship theme that resonates through both stories. Without each other, George and Lennie have no one. Similarly, Jaycee and Nick experience a lack of fitting in, connecting, feeling grounded in their own lives, until they find one another.

Of course, the counters to friendship are loneliness and loss, and these themes also run through both stories. George and Lennie have suffered loss when we first meet them, and, once at the farm, there is the loss of Candy’s dog, of Lennie’s puppy, of Curly’s wife, and ultimately each other. In The Pull of Gravity Nick, Jaycee and the Scoot all suffer loss (whether temporary or permanent), of family structure, of innocence, and of friendship. It is a bond they have in common and that, ultimately, brings them closer together.

*this 2011 essay written with the generous assistance of Paul W. Hankins.

Friday Feedback with Sarah Aronson: Top 5 things about writing picture books—even if you think you are a novel writer.

Hey, all, Happy Friday! I am so ridiculously happy and honored to have Sarah here. She's an extraordinary writer, teacher and human, and I'm so thrilled she agreed to be here to give feedback to you today!

I was especially excited for the release of Sarah's awesome new picture book, JUST LIKE RUBE GOLDBERG, because, from a young age, my parents taught me about him, and his name became like Kleenex-for-tissue in our house, a two-word description for anything that was deliciously eccentric, complicated, or complex. Here's a brief description for the book!

Discover how Rube Goldberg followed his dreams to become an award-winning cartoonist, inventor, and even an adjective in the dictionary in this inspiring and funny biographical picture book.

See? An adjective!! Yes!! Just like he was in our house!!!

So, please check out this -- and her other books, order a copy for your classroom or kids, and ask your local library to order it in if they haven't already. A worthy title for any and all collections!! And now, without further ado, here's Sarah, who, I think, expands on the concept of finding the joy and play in our work as we go along we started talking about last week, and then shares FIVE awesome tips for picture book writing:

Hey there! My name is Sarah, and I like to write in multiple genres. 

I didn’t think it was going to be this way. 

A couple of years ago, after two YA novels and a MG novel, I took the dramatic (at least to me) step to try and write the genres I didn’t think I was good at. I have talked about this decision a lot over the years. Mostly because it changed my career. And made me a happier writer. But at the time, I didn’t know what was going to happen. All I knew is that my third book sold poorly. My fourth book didn’t sell.

I was having less fun. 

I needed to get out of my own way. To learn to play. To be like David Bowie. To embrace the creative life all over again. To think less, write more. 

And did I say have more fun?

I really wanted to have more fun.

During the next six months, (and ever since) I totally indulged myself. And it worked. I wrote The Wish List Book One: The Worst Fairy Godmother Ever. 

I started an adult novel (that I still have to finish). I wrote a bunch of picture books—some awful. Some didactic. Some pretty good. One of them came like a spark of inspiration. It became Just Like Rube Goldberg—which was published by Beach Lane Books with GORGEOUS illustrations by Robert Neubecker. 

The process of making that book taught me a lot. More than five things. But today, let’s talk about the top five things about writing picture books—even if you think you are a novel writer.

#1 

Let’s start with the thing everyone talks about when they talk about picture books: 

WORD COUNT!

Here is what I learned right off the bat: Short word count is not a demotion. It is a challenge to get to the heart of the story. To embrace THE FORM. 

A short word count helps create better pacing. 

(Don’t you hate it when you are ready to turn the page for a new illustration, but there are still more words to read???) Remember: picture books (like all books) are cinematic. But unlike novels, they are driven by and inhabited through the pictures. Although the words come first in the submission process, the words cannot interfere with the illustrations. 

When I saw Robert’s illustrations taking shape, I deleted words.

Now when I work on my picture books, whether fiction or true stories, I try to make them as short as possible. Because words you don’t need are…well…words you don’t need.

#2

YOU HAVE TO FEEL CONNECTED TO YOUR SUBJECT. 

Or in other words: you have to love what you are writing.

Or in other words: your heart must be in your story.

Just like Rube Goldberg is all about Rube. But it is also all about ME. It’s about my ideas about creativity—that are embraced by Rube’s. Every second of the process was FUN. Even when I was frustrated with my own limitations, I was enjoying playing with the words. 

If you are not having fun…

If writing is not feeling like ice cream…

If you are making decisions because of THE MARKET. Or BECAUSE SOMEONE TOLD YOU SOME RULE. Stop.

Start a new page.

Find your heart in the process.

(You will thank me later.)

#3

Writing a true story? BACK MATTER MATTERS. Back matter isn’t just a chance to show off how much research I did. Back matter marks the spot where curiosity met process. (Not for nothing, editors like to see that you did your work.) TRUE STORY: when I was researching Rube, I actually found ANOTHER STORY. But mostly, thinking about back matter made me think more about my reader. There was a lot more I could have shared. I created back matter and a bibliography knowing that my readers would be curious, too. I want them to keep learning after they are done reading, since the book couldn’t be about everything. 

Note: I will be on a panel talking about this at NCTE. Come say hi!

#4 

TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE THE DUMMY.

See your story on the page.

Draw bad drawings.

Read your book and turn the page. 

My first Rube Dummy showed me where I needed to show more.

The dummy I just made for my new secret project which I cannot announce yet (Shhhhhhhhhhhhh), showed me where I was overindulging and writing too many words that I did not need. When I cut those words, THE BOOK SOLD.

LAST and MOST IMPORTANT: 

#5

TRUST and CONFIDENCE are ESSENTIAL.

Just like any project, you have to trust yourself. 

You have to trust your reader friends.

You have to trust your agent.

You have to trust your editor. 

You have to trust your illustrator. 

It’s a lot of trust.

And I will admit: I am bossy. I had ideas for Rube. BUT NONE were as good as this:

So that’s it.

Five things.

In less than 1000 words.

And, now, I guess it's my turn to put my words where my mouth is and offer up a brief excerpt for your feedback, inviting you to do the same in the comments!

If you've never participated in Friday Feedback, please first read THE RULES!!!

Here is a piece of a picture book WIP I am working on. I'm actually about to submit it. 

It's called As Easy as 1 2 3.

Who is the most exhibited artist in the world? 

Would you believe Picasso?

Or maybe Monet?

Or how about Dan Robbins?

Never heard of him? Pull up a chair.

Dan Robbins worked at Detroit’s Palmer Paint Company in early 1950. His Boss, Max Klein, could see the writing on the wall. For the first time, Americans had the time, inclination, and money to take up new hobbies—including art. 

He asked Dan to create a coloring book—to drum up sales of children’s paints.

But Dan had a better idea. 

He knew that the great master, Leonardo da Vinci, taught his apprentices to create fine art by giving them numbered patterns. 

Each number on the canvas corresponded to a unique pigment.

Like 1 for red.

And 2 for yellow.

Dan figured if it worked for Leonardo, it could work for America, too.

---

So that's it! Looking forward to your comments and your excerpts!!!

Sarah (& Gae)

Friday Feedback: A New Shiny Cover Reveal

Forgive the late posting. This was not the blog post I originally planned today. I wrote a whole 'nother one, then, as they say in THE PULL OF GRAVITY, the best laid plans got in the way.

Okay, maybe they said that somewhere else first before my debut YA. :)

Anyway, not the post I was planning, but we did the official JACK KEROUAC IS DEAD TO ME cover reveal yesterday unexpectedly, so I'm bumping everything to share that here. Now.

Isn't it pretty?!?!

If you want to read the official COVER REVEAL BLOG POST (and why Kelly Hager of KellyVision was the perfect host), you may do so HERE . . . and to read more about the book or preorder (those are good for writers!!!), you may do so here: https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Kerouac-Dead-Me-Novel/dp/125031223X, (although the BEST place to preorder is via your local indie and/or brick and mortar.

Or, heck, preorder through one of my favorite indies -- and endeavors -- THE BRAIN LAIR BOOKSTORE <--- p="" there.="">
Anyway, I'm excited about this book I started nearly a decade ago (!!!) and hope you all love it when it arrives on shelves everywhere in April 2020.

Now, without further ado, FRIDAY FEEDBACK. If you haven't been here before, please take a moment to read THE RULES.

My share is a moment in my continuing WIP ("Work in Progress") which right now appears to be adult literary fiction. It is completely unedited or reread. A true first "Vomit Draft." Last week we met Paul at "Twenty Three Years Later." For the moment, this is the first time we meet June.

Twenty years later.

June

June Sobel sits at the living room window, across from the piano, and stares out at the patchy lawn. She’s not thinking about the small lump her OBGYN found in her breast yesterday morning, or about the biopsy she has to go in for next week. She’s thinking about Gabriel and the time he explained chord progressions to her, a moment that comes back to her lately, again and again.

“Since there are only so many chord progressions to choose from,” he’d told her, “you can’t protect them, or accuse other people of stealing them.” 

He’d been sitting at the piano, then, absentmindedly fiddling with the last two high-pitched keys, to the point where she’d lost her patience, annoyed at the repetition. It was a Saturday morning and she was enjoying her tea, and it infuriated her the way he’d do that, play nothing at all, or worse, something aggravating just to get on her nerves. After all those lessons, he was more than capable of playing something beautiful.

----

See you in the comments!

- gae

Friday Feedback: Will this Be Your Summer to Fly? (and. . . the Rules).

One of the perks of sticking with it?
getting to meet and hang with some of your own personal heroes!
Here, with the truly awesome human, Chris Crutcher.

"I've always wanted to write a book."

You've been saying this for years.

Or, better yet, you started a book years ago, but never found the wherewithal to finish.

So, what exactly are you waiting for??

Oh right:

              The right moment.

              Enough time.

              Proof you can really get it done.

Proof it won't suck.

Proof you don't suck.

Proof you won't have wasted all that time.

https://giphy.com/gifs/65ODCwM00NVmEyLsX3

Yeah, forgive me for laughing, but . . . good luck with that.

Because no matter how long you wait (AND if you're me -- and most the writers I know -- it won't matter how long you actually are published for,) you are never going to have ANY of those occur.

Not time.

Not proof.

Not really.

At least not without YOU drilling opposite messages into your head. Here they are:

The time is now.

THIS is the right moment.

There will NEVER be more time than there is now.

There will NEVER BE enough time.

Ever.

And, there is absolutely no proof you can get it done. Like, zero. Well, except for the empirical fact that you have hands that type, presumably a laptop (or writers notebook, or very long scroll of toilet paper), a brain that works (most days), and a pen. Therefore nothing but YOU is stopping you.

You're welcome.

But seriously. Very few of us have the luxury to just start out as writers (or ever do nothing other than write to support ourselves). The first complete manuscript I ever wrote took me five years. When I started it, I had a colicky, impossible toddler, a baby in my tummy, and worked from home as a lawyer writing per diem motion papers and representing a few of my own clients on the side.

By the time I finished the manuscript, I had a six year old, a four year old, and was working three-quarters time running my own law practice. Oh, and p.s. that book never sold. Never saw the light of day. Nor did the one I wrote after it.

ALL my writing during those years took place from 10 pm - 3 am, and, yeah, some mornings I was very very tired.

Here's something else, with a fifth and sixth book coming out in 2020 from major publishers, I STILL don't know if I can do it again. I still don't know if I'm wasting my time. If I have anything to say that's worthy of all the effort and revision and rejection. So that most days, surfing the internet and ordering clothes from Free People is way easier than butt-in-chair to see what -- if anything -- comes out of me.

And, then, somehow, I do it. I write that page.
That sentence.
That scene.

The one that makes my heart race, that comes up out of me from who knows where (though, once in a while, I have an idea...)?

The one that sends me chasing after the next sentence, after the characters, and, eventually, the whole of their story waiting to unfold.

And I let them march forward (knowing I can change it all later if I want to), let the characters take up enough words, enough moments in my head, that they start to occupy this space that's less thought and more magic. And just a tiny bit of promise. I allow them the space to come alive and remind me that THEY have something to say.

I have NO idea if this is the right place to start, but it's
A place to start, which is better than not ever starting at all. 

I focus not on the book/story at first, but the small moments, the characters, and hope they will be enough to bring me back a second day and sustain me.

So, for now, STOP worrying about the big picture, and march forward with the small.

STOP asking if you have the time, and make (take) it.

START somewhere.

And once you do, don't turn back. Not now. Later you'll know whether that was the right ultimate starting spot, but right now, if you are typing, it is.

And STOP asking if your words will be good enough, and just write them.

You can change them later. I promise. And you will.

But there is nothing to make pretty if you never write it at all.

Having said that, welcome to Friday Feedback! And, hey, guess what? I'm in your shoes. Working on something new and I'm not quite sure what it is. The working title is EDGES and you've seen a few glimpses above. In a minute, I'm going to share an excerpt with you from the opening for your feedback (because that's how this works). Then, you do the same in the comments.

If you are a first time participant, before you get started, please read -- and abide by -- the rules!!!

But first, in case you've gotten here, and you still don't know how it works:

How it works. Easy peasy:

Every week, I -- or one of my awesome guest authors -- will share a tiny bit of writing wisdom followed by an excerpt of our own ROUGH, UNPUBLISHED writing for your feedback. In return, we offer you the same opportunity: to share a brief excerpt in the comments for feedback from us -- AND from other campers!). 

See? Simple.

Now, HERE ARE THE RULES: 

1. The Feedback should always be given in this order:

• WHAT WORKS (and why)?;
• WHAT MIGHT NOT BE WORKING if anything (and why)?; and
• ARE YOU COMPELLED TO KEEP READING?

Please note the order of those. Here at Friday Feedback, our first goal is to be encouraging. We highlight the gems in one another's writing before we offer up constructive criticism. If you launch in with constructive criticism, I will hunt you down and fine you. Okay, well, I will hunt you down and scold you. :) 

2. The excerpts should not exceed three (3) paragraphs, if long, five (5) paragraphs if mostly dialogue or otherwise short. This rule holds even if I, or my guest authors, post a longer excerpt. If you put up more than the requested length, we do not promise to read beyond the stated limits. And PLEASE DON'T MAKE US CLICK ON A LINK TO READ YOUR EXCERPT ELSEWHERE!!! If you're having trouble posting, feel free to email me at g.polisner@gmail.com

You may post excerpts through Saturday and I will check in, but I do not require my guest authors to read past close of business Friday. 

3. We ask you to remember that this is just for illustrative and enjoyment purposes. There is only so much we can realistically glean from a brief excerpt out of context. Friday Feedback is intended to be instructional and inspiring, but please know our feedback out of context of a full work must always be taken as merely that. Your job here is to take in the information as you will. Keep what you like. Toss what you don't. In the end, you are the boss of your own writing.

4. You may be the recipient of one of my patented "Superspeed Flash Edits."

Okay, fine, they're not patented, whatever. Sometimes, if your excerpt lends itself to me doing one of these, I will do so: namely, zip through your piece editing for passive voice (where not intended) unneeded words, wrong punctuation, repetition, etc.

I will NOT edit your own unique voice or substantive writing. This is an exercise intended to demonstrate how revision/clean up/intentional writing can truly make our voices pop and shine. And this is almost always SECOND DRAFT STUFF -- the stuff of REVISION -- when you are sharing first draft stuff, and so, again, is merely intended to make you aware of potential tics and such that take away from your own beautiful work, so you can get on that stuff DOWN THE ROAD.

If you do NOT want to be the recipient of a Superspeed Flash Edit for any reason, please message me at g.polisner@gmail.com and I'll remember not to edit you, or even say so right in the comments. :) 

5. To elaborate on one of the points above. . . I know many of you work summers and may not find time to post your excerpt until late Friday evening. I do not ask any of my guest authors to return Saturday, but some of them are willing. I will often return Saturday morning to give stragglers feedback. Please don't post beyond that. Please note that Friday Feedback takes a lot of work if the comments are busy, and my, and my guest authors', time is offered to you for free as a source of inspiration and encouragement. If you participate here, please order my newest title, IN SIGHT OF STARS, or any of my other titles if they appeal more to you, and when possible, please order the newest title of my guest authors. If you are unable to purchase copies, it is almost as good to reach out to your local library and ask them to order it in if they don't have it already! 

And, now, without further ado (because that was already a LOT of ado), here's the current very opening of EDGES. Believe you me, I'm nearly as nervous as you are to share, especially since it's not my usual comfort zone of YA. But, too bad for me. So, here it goes:

Twenty-three Years Later.

Paul

Paul Sobel stares at the ceiling thinking about some damned bird, as he has been doing for -- well, how many hours has it been now?

He lifts his wrist out of habit to check, but of course he stopped wearing a watch ages ago. God forbid he didn’t give in and learn to use that damned cell phone for everything, like everyone else does. Time. Internet. Weather. Texting, for God’s sake. Texting. All forms of human contact. A damned slave to some metal and glass box filled with pixels, helpless to function when you suddenly find you don’t have one on you.

Well, honestly, then, he has no idea what time it is.

It could be 8 pm. It could be midnight. Hell, it could be 2 am.

His stomach growls, and he wonders vaguely, again, how many messages are piled up on his cell phone where he left it on the kitchen counter when he headed down.

Down to the freezer to get some ice cream.

If June were here, none of this would have happened.

But the bird? The bird? What was that thing called again? Maybe it’s the loss of blood affecting his memory, or the pain in his low back and right shoulder, now replaced with a tingling nothingness. Or maybe it’s simply hunger and lack of movement. He’s barely eaten since yesterday.

A Casserole! No, no, of course not. That’s not it. That’s food. This was a huge emu or ostrich type thing that looked even more vicious and prehistoric.

A Cassoulet. Hah, no! Food, again. Some sort of pork and bean dish?

He laughs out loud at this, so hard he begins to cry. Stupid old pansy-ass is flat out crying, his whole upper body wracked with sobs.

---------

xox gae (see you in the comments!!)

IN SIGHT OF STARS. . . "All told in some of the most beautiful prose you will probably ever read."

IN SIGHT OF STARS came out last Tuesday to some of the most wonderful accolades any of my books have ever received, including a starred review from Booklist, great reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus, and an amazing review from Teenreads.com in which the teen reviewer wrote, "IN SIGHT OF STARS deals with mental health, Vincent van Gogh, family and recovery; all told in some of the most beautiful prose you will probably ever read," plus that gorgeous quote on the left, which I may have asked my publicist to turn into that pretty, fancy social whim.

School Library Journal wrote of the book:

"In the vein of Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story, Polisner's short novel destigmatizes mental illness, emphasizing that everyone needs a little help sometimes. Readers will laugh, cry, and ache alongside Klee as they follow his recover. In a sea of recent contemporary novels about teens with mental illnesses, this one stands out for its strong writing, likable protagonist, and overwhelmingly positive messages." 

While Booklist called it, "An intense, sometimes graphic, totally heartbreaking portrait of a character who will keep pages turning.” 

A teen blogger for Germ Magazine wrote of it, "Gae Polisner’s latest release is nothing short of extraordinary. As I like to say, this book is the lovechild of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story... One of the most compelling and important books on the shelves today, giving teens an outlet to feel heard and understood." 

There's more wonderful praise to be found on Amazon and at Goodreads, but better than all the praise was the amazing celebration of the book I got to share with friends and family at Book Revue, Long Island.

Despite a nor'easter the morning of that had my hair salon calling to regretfully cancel my blow out due to weather, and my husband and I shoveling away a solid 8" of snow three hours before the release, by show time, the snow had stopped, the roads were clear, and we had a packed house of nearly 100, standing room only, a sea of friendly faces consisting of loved ones, political action warriors (we had a voter registration table and a gun reform table!!!) and friends, swim buddies, and more!!! Of course, I'd like to believe they all came for me, but we all know we all came for the very same thing, myself included:

SHEET CAKE. And oh there was.

The night of. . . 

The day after.

Gosh, I miss those cakes!!!! (Costco sheetcakes decorated by me, by the way. Nothing more delicious on earth!)

All in all, it's been a wonderful launch. For those who don't know, Klee, my main character is an artist, and much I know about art, I know from my mom, an amazing artist in her own right.

In the spirit of the evening, she hand-painted me some amazing Van Gogh inspired starry pants, and the rest of my family some sunflower ISOS shirts!!

my sister, dad and mom. . . you can barely see the awesomeness of my pants here, but oh well.

For any of you who wish you could have been there, but were not, I did a facebook live virtual book launch last night HERE. Feel free to breeze through and just get the flavor.

And for all who read and love IN SIGHT OF STARS, please share that love with your friends and book clubs, and put up reviews at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, and your other favorite online sites (Instagram, twitter, etc!). They matter! They really do!!

Happy reading!

xox gae

p.s. if you are a teacher or educator and would like to use IN SIGHT OF STARS in your classroom, a phenomenal teacher's guide is coming soon!! I will link here and on my website! And if students are interested, I keep a Pinterest Board for most of my manuscripts in progress, and sometimes toss things onto the board post release, and you can find my IN SIGHT OF STARS board here: https://www.pinterest.com/gaepol/in-sight-of-stars/