February 2018
The Literacy Resource for Teachers, Librarians, and Parents
Kwame
AlexanDer
is the Next Read Across America Ambassador Hannah Alper
is Making a ‘Momentus’ Difference Author Visit:
Suzy Kline Vashti Harrison
Introduces Young Readers to Little Leaders in Black History
Eagle Scout Paul Ollarsaba
Gives Kids in Need the Gift of Reading
Sparking Imagination with
Stellar Science
Sarah Hill
Creates a Whimsical Woodland Series for Kids Q&A with
Deborah Diesen
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Cristy Bertini Cristy@StoryMonsters.com
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Melissa Fales
DESIGN
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Science & Nature Editor Conrad J. Storad
COLUMNISTS
Nick Spake, Rita Campbell, Olivia Amiri, Julianne Black
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Debbie Greenberg
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Cover photo courtesy of Portia Wiggins Portraiture Story Monsters Ink magazine and www.StoryMonsters.com are trademarks of Story Monsters, LLC. Copyright ©2018 Story Monsters Press, ISSN 2374-4413, ISBN: 9781338199932: All rights reserved. Contents may not be published in whole or in part without the express written consent of the bylined author and publisher. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual writers and are not necessarily those of Story Monsters Ink or its advertisers. Story Monsters Ink is published by Story Monsters Press Postal mail may be sent to Story Monsters Ink 4696 W. Tyson St., Chandler, AZ 85226 Phone: 480-940-8182
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Story Monsters Ink | February 2018 | StoryMonsters.com
Honor Roll Gold Award Recipient, Mom’s Choice Awards. Named among the “great magazines for kids and teens” by School Library Journal. 2016 Irwin Award winner for “Best Publisher of a Literary Magazine” and “Best Editorial Director.”
February 2018
In this issue 04
26
Kwame Alexander is the Next Read Across America Ambassador
Eagle Scout Paul Ollarsaba Gives Kids in Need the Gift of Reading
10
30
Hannah Alper is Making a ‘Momentus’ Difference
Sparking Imagination with Stellar Science
16
34
Author Visit: Suzy Kline
Sarah Hill Creates a Whimsical Woodland Series for Kids
20
56
Vashti Harrison Introduces Young Readers to Little Leaders in Black History
Q&A with Deborah Diesen
38 How Does Your Garden Grow? 40 Winter Reading List
44 Kids Can Publish 46 Monsters at the Movies 48 Liv on Life
50 Book Reviews 58 Kids Corner
Tell us what you think of this issue! Email your comments to cristy@storymonsters.com. StoryMonsters.com | February 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
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Story Monsters Ink | February 2018 | StoryMonsters.com
Feature Cover Story
Kwame
Alexander is the Next Read Across America Ambassador by Melissa Fales
Growing up, Kwame Alexander was surrounded by books. They filled his family’s house, dominated their conversations, and ruled career aspirations for his father, a publisher, and his mother, a writing teacher. “I couldn’t escape literature as a child,” Alexander says. “It was everywhere. Reading was like eating in our house. Books were like air.” Given that environment, it’s no surprise that this New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning poet and author has become a literacy advocate on a global level. His latest book, Solo, was co-written with his friend Mary Rand Hess.
StoryMonsters.com | February 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
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Feature Cover Story
By the time Alexander reached middle school, he had largely lost interest in reading, but he doesn’t buy into the pervasive idea that boys of that age are naturally reluctant readers. “It’s more that they don’t want to read the books we think they should read,” he says. “Maybe we’ve got to let them decide. Maybe they need to discover books that will rip their hearts out and stomp on them. I remember reading a book about Muhammad Ali when I was 13 or 14 that I couldn’t put down. Those books existed then and they exist today. Those are the books I try to write now. I want to write books that are unputdownable.” Alexander hopes Solo will be that type of book. Hess started writing it over 10 years ago, but the story never really gelled. Set in L.A., it followed the son of 6
Story Monsters Ink | February 2018 | StoryMonsters.com
a has-been rock star to Kenya where he discovered what really matters in life. Realizing that her story was in need of a rewrite, Hess invited Alexander to step in, suggesting they change Kenya to Ghana since Alexander had visited Ghana several times. “I immediately said yes,” says Alexander. “I’d wanted to write about Ghana since my first trip in 2012. I just could never figure out how.” With Alexander on board, Solo became a tribute to both the nation of Ghana and rock ‘n’ roll music, which at first glance might seem like disparate subjects. “The cool thing is they’re really not,” says Alexander. “There’s this direct line that we consciously tried to show between them. Rock ‘n’ roll music came from the blues. The blues came from songs that Africans sang.
Feature Cover Story
“I love making words dance on the page. Poetry allows me to capture heavy, emotional things that are happening with a lot of kids in a way they can quickly understand. I want to write the books that kids are not going to want to put down. I want to entertain them. I want to inspire them to go out and pick up another book. I’m trying to write books that are going to make books cool.” So the roots of rock ‘n’ roll are in African music and it’s been really cool to write about that energy and that connection.” Alexander first began visiting Ghana through an invitation of an American friend who was living there. “It was a really eye-opening experience,” he says. “The people live in severe poverty but they’re extremely happy and polite and hopeful. They inspired me to do something to match that hope. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I knew I could do something.” Alexander has visited twice a year since, delivering books and co-founding a literacy program there. “I’ve learned a lot about myself from those trips,” he says. “It’s truly been a life-changing experience.”
Another life-changing experience happened when Alexander’s middle-grade novel, The Crossover, earned the 2015 Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children. “It was like I’d been a jet plane for the 23 years of my writing career and each year I’ve gotten a little faster, but I’ve still been grounded on the runway, just waiting to take off,” he says. “When the Medal happened, the plane took off. Overnight, I went 30,000 feet in the air.” Alexander appreciates the fact that these two momentous occasions, traveling to Ghana and winning the Newbery Medal, coincided. “All of these opportunities were coming at me, spectacular and wondrous,” he says. “Simultaneously, I’m in Ghana in a community with two wells. One is broken so kids have to walk three miles to get water, but they’re smiling and laughing the whole way. That really kept me grounded when I needed it the most.” Written as a novel in poem form, The Crossover is a unique book about basketball that grabs readers in a way other more traditional books haven’t. Alexander had written a number of poetry books before it, but none like it. He says he believes children have innate appreciation for poetry if they’re interested in the topic. “I think of poetry as the bridge that allows kids to develop an appreciation of language, the rhythm, the rhyme, and the word play,” he says. Poetry has since become Alexander’s default writing style. “My passion right now is poetry and it’s what I’m most comfortable with,” he says. “I love making words dance on the page. Poetry allows me to capture heavy, emotional things that are happening with a lot of kids in a way they can quickly understand. I want to write the books that kids are not going to want to put down. I want to entertain them. I want to inspire them to go out and pick up another book. I’m trying to write books that are going to make books cool.” Alexander says Solo builds on successful writing styles he experimented with in The Crossover. For example, he used italics to indicate dialog so as not to disrupt the rhythm of the poem. “I didn’t know if it would work in the context of the story, but it did,” he says. “By the time I wrote Solo, I was more comfortable with it. This is my thing now; this is how I do dialog now. In that aspect, The Crossover was a lot of let me try this out and see if it works. It’s allowed me to become more confident with each book.” StoryMonsters.com | February 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
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