September 2018
The Literary Resource for Teachers, Librarians, and Parents
Judy Newman on Books, Blogging, and Back to School Tom Rogers
Gives Young Readers Insight into the Events of 9/11
Trudy Ludwig
Inspires Kids to be Kind
11-year-old Aiden Dennis
Creates a Special Fellow to Help Kids Stay Focused
David Shannon
Celebrates 20 Years of his Mischievous Namesake
Britt Menzies
Introduces Some Little Stinkers with Big Lessons
Reading Rescue
Changes the Literary Landscape for Struggling Students
A Dreadful Interview
with Quentin Q. Quacksworth
Little Lobbyist Jax Weldon
Helps Arizona Dinosaur Gain Fame
Teaching Toolbox:
Back to School
Q&A
with Jacqueline Jules
PROMOTE YOUR BOOK IN OUR NEXT ISSUE! Would you like to promote your book, product, or business? Contact Cristy Bertini at Cristy@StoryMonsters.com or call 413-687-0733 to reserve your space! Discounts available.
MEET THE STAFF PUBLISHER
Bring Story Monsters Ink into Your Classroom!
Editor-in-Chief
Visit our website at StoryMonsters.com to download free classroom question sheets to aid in learning comprehension and encourage your students to discuss what they’ve read in each issue!
Linda F. Radke Linda@StoryMonsters.com Cristy Bertini Cristy@StoryMonsters.com
WRITERS Melissa Fales, Nick Spake, Olivia Amiri, Julianne Black, Larissa Juliano
DESIGN
StoryMonsters.com
Science & Nature Editor
Order Story Monsters Ink online at storymonsters.com/subscribe/ or through subscription services for schools, libraries, and businesses.
Jeff Yesh
Conrad J. Storad
PROOFREADER Deb Greenberg
Web Management Patti Crane
Advertising
Linda F. Radke Info@StoryMonsters.com Cristy Bertini Cristy@StoryMonsters.com
“Like” us on Facebook! Facebook.com/StoryMonsters Follow us on Twitter! @StoryMonsters Follow us on Instagram! instagram.com/storymonsters
Book Reviewers Darleen Wohlfeil, Diana Perry, Jessica Reino, Tynea Lewis, Sherry Hoffman, Diana Fisher, Dawn Menge, Denise Bloomfield
Issues of Story Monsters Ink are recorded by the Arizona Talking Book Library!
Cover and interior photos of Judy Newman courtesy of Scholastic Story Monsters Ink magazine and www.StoryMonsters.com are trademarks of Story Monsters, LLC. Copyright ©2018 Story Monsters LLC, 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 Contents may not be published in whole or in part without the express written consent of the bylined author and publisher.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 LLC Postal mail may be sent to Story Monsters Ink 4696 W. Tyson St., Chandler, AZ 85226 Phone: 480-940-8182
2
Story Monsters Ink | September 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.”
September 2018
In this issue Features 4 JUDY NEWMAN
on Books, Blogging, and Back to School
10 Tom Rogers
60 Q&A
Gives Young Readers Insight into the Events of 9/11
with Jacqueline Jules
64 Teaching Toolbox:
14 Trudy Ludwig
Back to School
Inspires Kids to be Kind
18 11-year-old Aiden Dennis
Creates a Special Fellow to Help Kids Stay Focused
22 David Shannon
Celebrates 20 Years of his Mischievous Namesake
26 Britt Menzies
Introduces Some Little Stinkers with Big Lessons
32 Reading Rescue
Changes the Literary Landscape for Struggling Students
Monthly Columns
36 Little Lobbyist Jax Weldon
30 Liv on Life
Helps Arizona Dinosaur Gain Fame
42 My Favorite Teacher
40 A Dreadful Interview
50 Monsters at the Movies
with Quentin Q. Quacksworth
44 Fall Reading List 54 Book Reviews
Tell us what you think of this issue! Email your comments to cristy@storymonsters.com.
StoryMonsters.com | September 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
3
Feature Cover Story
Judy Newman on Books, Blogging, and Back to School by Melissa Fales
Feature Cover Story
Each month, Scholastic Book Clubs distributes fliers to over 800,000 teachers with images of colorful, promising books for their students, who enthusiastically select which ones they want to order and read. According to Judy Newman, president and reader-in-chief of Scholastic Book Clubs, teachers do the most important work on the planet: educating children. “At Scholastic Book Clubs, teachers are our partners in our efforts to get more books into kids’ hands,” Newman says. “Our model is all about choice. When kids choose their books, they read more. It’s about making books and reading fun.”
Newman has a natural affinity for teachers. Her mother and grandmother both taught. “It’s in my blood,” she says. So is a love of books. “As a kid, I read everything and anything,” says Newman. She would race her bike to the public library in Newton, Massachusetts, to participate in the summer reading program. “I always wanted to be the kid who read the most books,” she says. At the end of each school year, Newman’s parents allowed her and her siblings to pick out as many books as they liked. “That was our reward for graduating to the next grade,” she says. In 1979, after graduating from Connecticut College with a Bachelor’s Degree in political science, Newman found herself lacking direction. “I was supposed to move to Washington, D.C. and go to law school, but I didn’t do amazing on the LSAT,” she says. Instead, she attended the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures, an elite, intensive, six-week course to prepare graduates for careers in publishing. “Naturally, it was very rarified,” says Newman, who got in on the recommendation of a friend of her then-boyfriend’s dad. “That’s why I always tell young people to use your connections,” she says. “It’s ok. You’ll have to survive on your own once you get there.”
Newman got a job at Dell Publishing and moved to New York City, where she worked during the day and took classes at the NYU Stern School of Business at night, eventually earning her MBA. While at Dell, Newman was asked to start a business to compete with Scholastic and created the Trumpet Club book program. It got her noticed by Scholastic, who tried to woo her unsuccessfully until 1993, when she made the leap. As president of Scholastic Book Clubs, Newman is in charge of producing the fliers for students and catalogs for the teachers. Each grade has its own monthly catalog 10 months out of the year, plus occasional specialty catalogs, for a total of 150 annually. “We choose books from all publishers,” she says. “Little ones, big ones, whatever we can find. Our staff is out there searching for books constantly. If there’s a hole in the market we can’t find books to fill, we’ll create them.” Newman says she’s seen many changes in the business over the past 25 years. “Since 2000, we’ve been fully online,” she says. “It’s an amazing testament to the durability of this business model.” She’s seen trends come and go. “We went through a little love affair with digital, but it didn’t last,” says Newman. “Teachers tell us kids still want physical books … it’s more of a holistic experience when you’re holding the actual book in your hands. There’s something about turning the page, seeing where you are in the book and how many more chapters you have to read. Plus, there’s no sense of pride with reading digital books. You can’t collect digital books and put them on your shelf.” A more recent change for Newman is adding “children’s book author” to her résumé. “Yes, for some masochistic reason, I decided to become a writer,” she says. Her StoryMonsters.com | September 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
5
Feature Cover Story
new Bobs and Tweets series already includes three titles: Meet the Bobs and Tweets, Bobs and Tweets: Perfecto Pet Show, and the soon-to-be released Bobs and Tweets: Trick or Tweet. Newman’s concept for the series caters to a particular type of reader. “Not all kids are great at reading,” she says. “You get the kids who are super precocious who leap from Dr. Seuss right into Harry Potter, but there are a lot of kids who are left behind. We know that we lose them around third grade. They start to feel unsuccessful or they find books too hard or not interesting. My idea was to create a digestible book for that specific kid.”
“We know that if kids don’t have equitable access to books, it sets them back. They don’t have the vocabulary and the skills to express themselves. It makes it very hard for them to be successful and nearly impossible for them to follow their dreams. That’s why we have to get every single kid reading. That’s why I do what I do.”
The Bobs and Tweets adventures focus on two families—the messy Bobs, and their antitheses, the orderly Tweets. In Meet the Bobs and Tweets, we learn that each family has one member who would seemingly be more comfortable in the other’s house. “There’s Gene, a neat freak who lives in a family of slobs, and Lou, all messy and wild, who comes from a family who’s all super neat and clean,” says Newman. The second book is a zany romp involving a skateboard ramp, animals, and a talent show, and the third book takes place as the Bobs and Tweets trick-or-treat in the middle of a blackout. All of the Bobs and Tweets books are written in comical rhymes and are illustrated by Kristy Caldwell, whose work Newman discovered on the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) website. But you won’t find Newman’s name anywhere on the Bobs and Tweets books. They’re written under the pen name Pepper Springfield. “I was so terrifyingly overwhelmed during the process of writing,” says 6
Story Monsters Ink | September 2018 | StoryMonsters.com
Feature Cover Story
Newman. “I didn’t even tell anyone I was doing it for a long time. I was too afraid. After all, I’m supposed to be an expert in children’s books.” She almost threw in the towel at one point, but showed a manuscript to a trusted friend who told her exactly what she needed to hear, “Keep going.” That’s exactly what Newman has been doing. Two more books are set to be released in 2019. No one knew what a blog was when Newman started at Scholastic, but running one is now a big part of her job. “We’re approaching 70,000 subscribers and our goal for this year is 150,000,” she says. To Newman, the blog is one more way people can connect with Scholastic Book Clubs and learn about titles they might want to read. “It’s so hard for people to find out about new books, or even old books,” says Newman. A highlight of the blog is seeing Newman and her colleague, David Vozar, dressing up in funny book-inspired costumes. “We probably have too much fun with it,” says Newman.
kids don’t have equitable access to books, it sets them back,” she says. “They don’t have the vocabulary and the skills to express themselves. It makes it very hard for them to be successful and nearly impossible for them to follow their dreams. That’s why we have to get every single kid reading. That’s why I do what I do.” For more information about Judy Newman and Scholastic Book Clubs, visit her blog at judynewmanatscholastic.com.
•
When she’s not posing for crazy blog photo shoots, Newman travels to classrooms all across the country to talk with teachers. Scholastic Book Club recruits teachers nationwide to be part of its advisory board. “Everything we create has to work for teachers, so we need their input,” she says. Often, the teachers tell Newman about tightening school budgets. “The dirty secret of teaching is that most of them are using their own money to outfit their classrooms,” she says. “Every order they place with us gives them access to free books. It’s a big give-back, tens of millions of dollars. We hear it from teachers all the time ... if they didn’t have the Scholastic Book Clubs, they wouldn’t have classroom libraries.” Once again this year, Scholastic Book Clubs is joining author James Patterson for the Patterson Partnership. “He’s giving us $2 million to give to teachers for their classroom libraries,” Newman says. “We’re matching that with 2 million bonus points. We’ll draw teachers’ names from over 125,000 entries and each teacher selected will receive $500 and 500 bonus points to purchase books.” Newman says the money and points will help teachers provide the books kids want to read and make sure students at all reading levels have accessible books to enjoy. According to Newman, a child’s access to books is an accurate predictor of success later in life. “We know that if StoryMonsters.com | September 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
7
From the creators of How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
The New York Times bestselling series continues with fun tips to help little ones love reading!
“This beloved series hit the ground running, and it’s still going strong.” — Booklist “Filled with humor and common sense.” — Kirkus Reviews
Available now! TM/® Scholastic Inc. Illustrations © 2018 by Mark Teague
8
Story Monsters Ink | September 2018 | StoryMonsters.com
StoryMonsters.com | September 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
9
Feature Story
William R. Satz Middle School (Holmdel, New Jersey) chose Eleven for their all-school read this past school year.
Tom Rogers Gives Young Readers Insight into the Events of 9/11 by Melissa Fales
10
Story Monsters Ink | September 2018 | StoryMonsters.com
Feature Story
Tom Rogers was asleep in his home in the Los Angeles hills when the rogue plane flew into the North Tower on the morning of September 11, 2001. He woke up to the phone ringing, a call from his wife telling him to turn on the TV. He did, just in time to see another plane hit the South Tower. The total destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers, the attack on the Pentagon, the hijacking and subsequent crash of Flight 93, and the indelible impression these events left on our collective psyche forever changed our country and every American who remembers that day.
Several years later, Rogers was stunned to realize that children who were too young to have personal memories of 9/11 and those who hadn’t been born yet had little knowledge of it. He decided to do something to change that. His middlegrade book, Eleven (Alto Nido Press), about a boy whose 11th birthday falls on 9/11, was released in 2014. “The events of that day need to be told and passed on,” Rogers says. “I know it’s hard for people to talk about it. It’s still fresh for many of us and we still get emotional, but we need to make sure that future generations don’t forget.” A question from Rogers’ young nephew planted the seed for what would be his debut children’s book. “What’s the big deal about 9/11?” asked the boy who was only two years old on that fateful day. All he knew, he said, was that it had something to do with someone blowing up a building in New York City. Surprised by this, Rogers asked some of his teacher friends what they taught their students about 9/11. They said they didn’t teach anything due to a lack of age-appropriate books on the subject and the fact that it wasn’t in the curriculum. That’s when Rogers became determined to write Eleven.
The book introduces Jersey City resident Alex Douglas on Sept. 10, 2001, the eve of his 11th birthday. When Alex realizes he’s not going to get the only thing he really wants for his birthday—a dog—he has a temper tantrum, yelling “I hate you,” at his father just before going to bed. When Alex wakes up the next morning, his father has already left for his job, driving a commuter train to the World Trade Center. Rogers says he chose to home Alex in New Jersey because that state suffered the greatest loss of life that day. “I also liked the perspective of being separate from New York City, but close,” he says. “I thought that would stand for how the rest of the country watched these things unfold. For me in California, it felt like it was happening to a next-door neighbor.” At first, Alex is having his best birthday yet. “School is canceled mid-morning and all the students are sent home,” says Rogers. “Along the way, he rescues a stray dog and plays baseball with his buddies.” Then Alex learns about the terrorist attacks. “He wonders if he’ll ever see his dad again or if the last thing he says to him will be those three words of anger,” says Rogers.
StoryMonsters.com | September 2018 | Story Monsters Ink
11