Ripples from a book
Yesterday the ALA Youth Media awards were announced. It’s a big, big day in the world of children’s literature. Lives are changed by the experience of winning a major award. Careers take a flying leap forward. It seems like everyone in the industry knows the name of the winners, the names of the winning books.
Five years ago, after another ALA Youth Media awards day, I was pumped up with some excitement of my own. No, I didn’t win any big award but I did learn that my middle grade novel, Hugging the Rock, was named an ALA Notable. And it got a lovely, shiny sticker on the cover.
Then, this week, I received an email from a gentlemen who is going to facilitate a library discussion on Hugging the Rock with a group of students. He wrote to share his story with me and asked me some questions about the book. He was doing some heavy duty research on the story before he talked to the students because he knows, this is a tough topic and not one a lot of people want to deal with. So he spent some time reading my website and then my blog and it led him to this entry where I shared a college paper written by a young woman who identified very strongly with Hugging the Rock.
And then I got it. Some books make a huge splash all at once and get a lot of attention. And that is great and wonderful. (I’m all for anything that gets kids excited about books.)
But some books make ripples instead of splashes. If you’re someone who had a book come out this year and you’re wishing you had a great big splash, I say, don’t worry. There are still ripples to be made. Some books take time to find their audiences. Some books, like Hugging the Rock, need time for the adults to read them and then, to put them into the hands of the children who need to hear the stories.
Sure, who wouldn’t want to make a big splash now and then. But hey, a ripple can go on and on and on every time someone shares a book they love with someone they know needs to hear the story.
So if you can’t make a splash, make a ripple.
Winner of the Hugging the Rock Book Trailer Contest!
Congratulations to FreshBrain user caitlin1591 who is the winner of the $1,000 "FreshBrain Video Book Trailer Scholarship" based on my book, Hugging the Rock. There were so many really talented teens who entered the contest and I want to thank all of them for the time and effort they put into their trailers. Many of them really went for the heartstrings, just like my book.
Thank you, Cailin!
My top 10 videos for the Hugging the Rock book trailer scholarship contest
Okay, I know if I try to embed things over here LJ will go all wonky, so you’ll have to click through each one.
These are in NO PARTICULAR ORDER but here are the top 10 videos for Hugging the Rock book trailer scholarship contest. The rest of the judges and I are working hard on narrowing down a winner but feel free to chime in with your opinions.
1. MRose
3. KevinMFox
4. Cat814
5. Caitlin1591
7. amdedinboro
8. robowasabi
9. elwen
10. tennisdancer51
Teens 13-18 Good chance to win $1000 for book trailer!
Only a little over a week left for teens 13-18 to get their entries in for the
There are only a few entries so far and a nice chunk of money on the
Deadline December 15th
Details: http://freshbrain.org/scholarship/freshbrain-video-book-trailer-scholarship
Please help spread the word!
Time is running out – $1000 book trailer contest!
Time is running out for teens 13-18 to enter the $1000 book trailer contest! Please help spread the word to teens and teachers and librarians. The deadline for submissions is December 15th.
and only a few entries so far.
Don’t miss your chance!
Please feel free to copy and paste from this post or if you want to link directly to the FreshBrain sign-up page, you can use this tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/rocktrailer
in your library, bookstore, classroom. PDF Word
VIDEO BOOK TRAILER SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST
OPEN TO KIDS 13-18
Create a video book trailer for the novel "Hugging the Rock" by Susan Taylor Brown.
Put together a cast and act it out, create an animation, or use photos with text set to music – it’s up to you. Be creative. Have fun. Make people want to read the book.
More details can be found at the Freshbrain.org website: http://tinyurl.com/rocktrailer
SUMMARY OF RULES
- U.S resident only between 13 and 18 years of age (as of the close of the contest)
- 30 seconds to 2 minutes in length and in a standard video format (.wmv, .mov, .avi, .mp4)
- Your own creation, NO copyrighted material
- Include a brief description of the process you followed
- Deadline for entries is 12/15/09
JUDGING
Judging will be based on the following criteria. Please see the official rules for more details.
- Creativity (50%)
- Consistency with the book (25%)
- Fit and finish (25%)
AWARDS
- The winner will receive a $1000 scholarship!
Poetry Friday
The Poetry Friday round-up is here so leave your links in the comments and I’ll round them up through-out the day. (Note, I’m on West Coast so expect some delay.)
Read about the evolution of the poem NO ROOM from its inception here or read about the $1000 schloarship contest for teens who create a book trailer for Hugging the Rock here.
CREDIT LINE: Posted with permission from Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown. Copyright © 2006 by Susan Taylor Brown, Tricycle Press, Berkeley, CA. www.tenspeed.com.
NOTE: I have removed the played due to some issues with LJ Embed. You can listen to it by going here instead.
The round-up – a little later than I planned but life had other ideas for me today.
Nandini Bajpai has an original about an Itchy Dog at Notes from New England.
Jama Rattigan is celebrating Johnny Appleseed’s birthday with a poem by Marge Piercy and 4 apple cake recipes:
It’s a feast for the eyes and the ears over at Educating Alice where Monica Edinger shares about the forthcoming book Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Julie Larios offers us a poem by Margaret Gibson titled “Autumn Grasses” – it’s based on an Edo painting by Shibata Zeshin.
A Year of Reading has a poem about fall by Georgia Heard, along with information about her upcoming blog tour!
Today at My World/Mi Mundo the celebration continues for Hispanic Heritage Month with a poem by celebrating Gabriela Mistral, the first Nobel Prize Latina Woman winner in 1945.
Laura Salas shares an original poem called “Without” (not the same as last week’s Without Rancor):
And this week’s 15 Words or Less poems are here.
Heidi Mordhorst is pointing everyone toward the important not-exactly poetry book If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christian.
Gisele LeBlanc gives us an original poem for children, titled, “Magic Cure“.
Kurious Kitty shares “Invictus” and Random Noodling celebrates the International Day of Peace.
A Sleepy Elf is in with a poem about sleeping (and other things), called “Things” by William J. Smith
Linda is in with four original tanka.
Sara Lewis Holmes blogged about Sherman Alexie yesterday and today she is featuring his new collection of poetry, FACE, and one of the poems in it, “How to Create An Agnostic.”
Laura @ Author Amok says, “Donald Hall is reading here in central Maryland next weekend. I’m sharing his seasonal poem, “Ox Cart Man,” to welcome fall.”
You can find a little bit of Eugene O’Connell posted here.
Tabatha A. Yeatts offers some ancient Greek poetry by Sappho today.
An original cinquain for dog lovers by Kelly Polark.
Poetry Friday on The Stenhouse Blog shares “The Light of September” by W. S. Merwin.
At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine Magliaro has a poem for Banned Books Week. It’s a revised version of Book Talk 2007, a poem about censorship that she wrote because of the kerfuffle caused by a certain word that Susan patron included in her book THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY. At Political Verses, Elaine has another original–“Dirty Dancing with the Stars: A Poem about Tom DeLay.” And at Blue Rose Girls, Elaine shares a poem by Elaine Equi titled “Ciao Bella Chocolate Sorbet.”
Semicolon is highlighting Felicia Hemans’ poem: “The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck and its imitators.”
Karen Edmisten brings us Taylor Mali’s “Undivided Attention” this week.
Today at Teaching Authors April Halprin Wayland shares a lesson in writing about uncomfortable feelings and an original poem about jealousy.
Lectitans is in with “Against Cinderella” by Julia Alvarez.
Susan at Chicken Spaghetti chimes In with a post that links to poetry by Colin West, including two tongue twisters.
In Honor of Fall the Write Sisters share a favorite from Robert Louis Stevenson at
After reading The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker, an enjoyable book about a poet with writer’s block who has to write an intro to an anthology of rhyming poetry, Emily Cook looked up Sara Teasdale and found a poem perfect for her day.
Jules from 7-Imp says, “I’m in today with a poem from a friend, Shannon Collins“(And some picture book art, too.)
Father Goose shares his original poem “Ars Longa, Vita Brevis“.
Jiill Corcoran put together Poetry for the Classrom: 6 fun poetry lessons for teachers and visiting authors.
Tracy Marchini has an original about a prom date related break-up.(not autobiographical! 
)
Lorie Ann Grover has the I’m missing-my-daughter-blues and shares an original poem titled “Off to College” and at readertotz they have “There was a Little Guinea-Pig”.
Bildungsroman posted lyrics from the song More than Fine by Switchfoot.
Jone at Check It Out has some fun haiku riddles inspired by Tricia (The Miss Rumphius Effect)
Carol of Carol’s Corner is in with a review of Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough’s new book, A PLACE FOR WONDER
$1000 SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST
I am so excited to finally be able to announce my secret project I’ve been working on with the wonderful folks at FreshBrain – The Technology Exploration Platform for Teens. We’re offering a contest for kids 13-18 to create a book trailer for my book, Hugging the Rock and the prize is a $1000 scholarship! How cool is that?
FreshBrain is an educational non-profit so the use of the website for teens, teachers, homeschoolers, is completely free! So teachers, if you haven’t already checked it out, I highly recommend it. Here’s a bit about FreshBrain from their website:
FreshBrain provides teens with the opportunity to explore, engage, and create through activities and projects. FreshBrain takes advantage of the latest technologies, such as web conferencing and social networking, to provide a very progressive environment where teens can complete activities and work together on projects. This experience is enhanced with Advisors, available to support and mentor teens who are working on projects, with the intention of increasing the likelihood of success. In addition, FreshBrain provides teens with tools and training in the latest technologies to complete these projects.
On with the contest! I hope you’ll consider helping to spread the word about this opportunity for teens.
Please feel free to copy and paste from this post or if you want to link directly to the FreshBrain sign-up page, you can use this tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/rocktrailer
VIDEO BOOK TRAILER SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST
OPEN TO KIDS 13-18
Create a video book trailer for the novel "Hugging the Rock" by Susan Taylor Brown.
Put together a cast and act it out, create an animation, or use photos with text set to music – it’s up to you. Be creative. Have fun. Make people want to read the book.
More details can be found at the Freshbrain.org website: http://tinyurl.com/rocktrailer
SUMMARY OF RULES
- U.S resident only between 13 and 18 years of age (as of the close of the contest)
- 30 seconds to 2 minutes in length and in a standard video format (.wmv, .mov, .avi, .mp4)
- Your own creation, NO copyrighted material
- Include a brief description of the process you followed
- Deadline for entries is 12/15/09
JUDGING
Judging will be based on the following criteria. Please see the official rules for more details.
- Creativity (50%)
- Consistency with the book (25%)
- Fit and finish (25%)
AWARDS
- The winner will receive a $1000 scholarship!
Hugging the Rock on TV
How exciting is it to see a copy of your book on TV?
Very. Very very exciting.
A huge thank you to author Katie Davis for showcasing my book, Hugging the Rock, on TV(in Connecticut)http://tinyurl.com/nffgvm for Father’s Day round-up.
Listen to Me Read – Doctor Dan From Hugging the Rock
In addition to my native garden inspired Haiku for every day in AprilI am also happy to be able to share permission to do a few audio recordings of some poems from Hugging the Rock to help celebrate National Poetry Month.
http://www.susantaylorbrown.com/audio/DrDan.mp3
CREDIT LINE: Posted with permission from Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown. Copyright 2006 by Susan Taylor Brown, Tricycle Press, Berkeley, CA.
The Poetry Friday roundup today is at Becky’s Book Reviews.
Listen to Me Read – No Room From Hugging the Rock
When I was thinking about Poetry Month for this year I knew I really wanted to find something different for me to do in order to feel more involved. So in addition to my native garden inspired Haiku per day I asked my publisher if I could have permission to do a few audio recordings of some poems from Hugging the Rock.
If the player doesn’t work, you can try this:
http://www.susantaylorbrown.com/audio/NoRoom.mp3
The full Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Ayuddha
CREDIT LINE: Posted with permission from Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown.
Copyright © 2006 by Susan Taylor Brown, Tricycle Press, Berkeley, CA. www.tenspeed.com.
Who’s Hugging the Rock?
It’s always hard for me (and perhaps for many authors) to talk about myself and my books. Sometimes I fear people will think I am putting more credence in my words (or self) than I should. Other times I perhaps don’t value myself or my words enough. Sometimes it’s just hard to toot your own horn. Which means it is especially nice when someone comes along who understands where a story might have sprung from or who looks at a story I have written in a completely different way and makes me wonder if that was what I meant all along.
I’ll tell you right now that this is a long post but one I think is worth the time it will take you to read it.
Over the period of writing Hugging the Rock I was asked (and asked myself) what this story was really all about. I started off thinking it was about my daughter and her father. I ended thinking it was about me and never knowing my father. But now, several years after the book has been out, Erica Harrington makes me wonder more about the mother in the story.
I have never met Erica but she won my heart by the kindness that she shows to my son Ryan. They both volunteer at the Loma Vista Life Skills class for adults with disabilities. When Erica told Ryan she was working on a children’s book project for school he put her in touch with me so I could offer whatever helpful tips I might have to share. It was fun to see her excitement as her own book took shape. Toward the end of the school year Erica sent me a paper she had written. A paper she had written on MY BOOK.
This was a first for me and I confess, I was a little bit nervous about opening it the first time. What would I say if it I didn’t like it? Luckily, that was not a problem. Instead I was blown away by her thoughts on the book. I also wanted to give her a hug of my own.
Today is Erica’s birthday, so it seemed like the perfect time to share this. Happy birthday, Erica! May you continue to touch the lives of many with your kind heart.
With Erica’s permission, her is her entire paper on my middle grade verse novel, Hugging the Rock.
Rachel’s anguish is evident throughout the story. From the first it is obvious that Rachel is confused and distraught that her mother is packing to leave “with all the things that matter most” (2)—not Rachel: “…By the time she’s done / there’s no room left for anything else. / No room left for Dad. / And no room left for me” (3). It’s clear that Rachel knows her mother’s leaving makes no sense, but that doesn’t lessen the pain, and neither does her father’s explanation: “The hurt / settles in my heart / like one of those giant rocks you tie to something / when you want it to sink / and I feel like I am drowning / in the truth / of his words” (132). Her father’s pain, guilt, and bumbling attempts to bond with her are also apparent. In telling her the whole truth about her mom, Rachel’s father admits, “I felt like a failure” (131), and goes on to say, “…when I couldn’t give you the mom you deserved / I just stopped trying” (131). Their relationship begins to mend and rebuild when she lets him squeeze her hand and tell her lovingly, “…I wanted you then / and I want you now” (132). Both Rachel and her father are sympathetic victims in this situation. But what about the mother?
It’s easy to blame any mother who would abandon her child—she must be selfish or irresponsible or weak—because there is a far greater level of expectation than for fathers, a demand to be perfectly and instinctively maternal. The prototypical fairytale mother is either all-knowing and kind, or completely unfeeling and villainous. But what if your instincts are all wrong, not suited to this responsibility? What if you cannot do what society expects? It is Rachel’s mother who is truly a victim: of her disease, of society’s expectations of women, of society’s ignorance about mental illness, and of her husband’s selfish desire for a child, thinking that he could fix her by tying her down to what for her is a monstrous, impossible responsibility.
Rachel’s father admits his wife did not want a baby. She knew herself well enough to know she couldn’t handle it, but he pressured her anyway, knowing her history of serious instability. Rachel’s dad tells her “…how Mom said she wasn’t cut out to be a mother / and how he said she could learn / and how they fought about it until Mom gave in” (130). Some victory.
There is ample proof Rachel’s mother was unable to handle the responsibility of raising a child because of her unmedicated and uncontrolled manic episodes, both before and after Rachel’s birth. The risks she took while Rachel was in her care are frightening: “My mom liked to drive fast / especially around corners / where she could jerk the steering wheel so hard / …and she’d take one hand off the steering wheel / …laughing so loud that I had to laugh too” (86). When in a manic state, there is a feeling of invincibility that a person experiences, and this euphoria can be dangerous because of the risks a manic person is willing to take without regard for those around them. Surely Rachel’s father knew this.Who is the real villain here, if there is one? If Rachel’s father knew his wife was “all mixed up inside” (129), to put it mildly, how could he knowingly pressure her into becoming a mother when she was so dependent on him to be her rock? He took advantage of this for his own selfish needs, admitting to Rachel, “…I needed to be needed” (129), and yet he didn’t support her the way she needed him to. He prevailed on her to have a baby, making a promise he had no right to make—”he tells me / how he promised her / that she could leave whenever she wanted…” (130)—putting her in an untenable situation and using guilt and Rachel as a pawn in his attempt to keep her from leaving. How is this fair to Rachel, to know that her mother could not be what she was expected to be, and that her father had brought her into this unstable life to fill his own personal void? Did he even consider the impact it would have on Rachel’s mother, let alone the impact it would have on Rachel herself?
Hugging the Rock brings out my deepest, most personal fears of becoming a mother and living my life the way Rachel’s mother does—a frightening, never-ending, manic swing of instability, inconsistency and absentminded, uncaring parenting. I feel as though bringing a child into the world when one cannot manage herself is the most irresponsible a person can be when diagnosed with a mental illness. Rachel’s mother did not want to take on that responsibility, she was pressured into it. I would argue, therefore, that it was the healthiest thing for Rachel’s mother to do to leave her daughter with her father because it shows, on some level, that she realizes she cannot fulfill the role of wife and mother forced on her by her husband, on whom she was dependent. The way Rachel’s mother behaves and the way her absence affects Rachel is my greatest fear as a woman with Bipolar Disorder—I do not want to have children for fear of allowing my life and personal relationships to fall in shambles. Susan Taylor Brown’s story of an abandoned girl is an anthem to the power of a father-daughter relationship, yet speaks just as loudly, if not more so, to the tragedy of an abandoned woman, forced to battle her mental illness on her own.
Thank you, Erica.
Thank you for reading my book with such an open heart and mind. Thank you for responding to my story with a full heart. And thank you for letting me share your paper with the rest of the world.
One of these things is not like the other things
Let’s play a guessing game! One of these things is not like the other.
Need a hint? It’s NOT that one of them has a sticker on it and one of them does not.
Oh, and it is not that one of them is in paperback and the other is not because, yes, that’s right, HUGGING THE ROCK is now out in paperback! Just in time for Father’s Day (hey, it’s a father/daughter book) and just in time for summer reading programs (please!).
Okay, here’s the hint. I’ll show you the back of the book and I bet you’ll be able to figure it out.
Did you get it? Yes, that’s right, not only is HUGGING THE ROCK in paperback here in the US but there is another paperback version – the British version – that it out too. UK rights sold a while back and it was fun to get this copy of it. I’m so glad they left the beautiful cover as it was. Interestingly enough, although they changed “Mom” to “Mum” on the back flap, the interior of the book still reads as just “Mom.”.
So if you have a friend in the UK – tell them to keep an eye out for the book. And if you’re putting together a summer reading list, please keep Hugging the Rock in mind.
Dublin & San Mateo appearances
Short notice, I know. Reading and signing for Hugging the Rock.
Barnes & Noble
Dublin, CA
Saturday, November 10th
1pm
Barnes & Noble
San Mateo, CA,
Saturday, November 17th
1pm .
If you’re in the area, I’d love to meet you.
2007 Notable Children’s Books in the English Language Arts
Color me happy this Friday morning as Hugging the Rock was just named a 2007 Notable Children’s Books in the English Language Arts!
From the press release that went out: “This list of thirty books will be presented at the 2007 NCTE and the 2008 IRA conventions as well as featured in the Fall 2007 Journal of Children’s Literature and the March 2008 Language Arts. The 2007 list, selection criteria, and links to previous lists can be found at http://www.childrensliteratureassembly.org/notable2007.htm
There are some great books on that list including one by our own LJer
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We have a winner!
I’m back. Sort of. Wading into the cold blog waters one toe at a time.
We have moved. We have unpacked a lot of boxes. (The books, mostly.) We are far, far from settled.
Thank you to crew at ARS Technica who came over and made the move an ARS meet. Also a big thanks to my buddies Mac and Tom from work. More on everything I hope later today but for now, we have a book box contest winner!
Jody guessed 236 and the final book box count was 232.
Jody, send me a mailing address and I’ll send you a copy of either Hugging the Rock or Oliver’s Must-do List.
And a thanks to
for the LJ nudge to post. Sorry it still took me a week to get here.
some very nice news!
I had a lovely email from my publicist at Tricycle who shared this very nice news with me:
Hugging the Rock has won a place on VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) Magazine¹s Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers. It will be announced and published in their February issue.
I am doing a big WOOHOO here at work and scaring all the engineers.
thank you to Don Tate and Camille at Book Moot
Thanks to Don Tate for his recent comments about Hugging the Rock on his blog. I haven’t heard from a lot of fathers of daughters yet so I had been waiting anxiously for his feedback. Also a big thanks to Camille at Book Moot for her review of Hugging the Rock with a prod and links for librarians to place orders for their own copy. Camille also posted her review on Amazon which I greatly appreciate.
Teacher’s guide for Hugging the Rock
I can’t remember if I posted this yet or not but I did, some of you could probably do with a reminder, right?
Thanks to 
traciezimmer I have a fabulous teaching guide for Hugging the Rock. Go ahead and download the PDF. (You know you want to.) If you are a teacher or librarian and you use Hugging the Rock with your class, I would love to know what you did and how it went.
Hugging the Rock reviews
Thank yous are in order, some long overdue:
Thanks to Kelly over at Big A little a and Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson’s Book Page for putting Hugging the Rock on their lists of top books for 2006. I’m honored to be listed with so many other wonderful books.
I don’t know if I posted a recent interview over at I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Little Willow over at Slayground and more recently, this interview with Vision Magazine
Some recent reviews for Hugging the Rock by loopiesnood http://loopiesnood.livejournal.com/1002.html and booksbynight http://booksbynight.livejournal.com/5721.html . Oh and Bookshelves of Doom reviewed it here:
Thanks to kidlit_kim for posting this review to YA Books Central and in the September issue, this review from School Library Journal:
Gr 5-8-Presented in brief, free-verse poems, this is a poignant character study of a dysfunctional family. In the opening sequence, Rachel watches her mother get ready to “run away from home,” packing up the car with everything that is important to her, except her daughter. When Mom is gone, neither Rachel nor her father can cope. Rachel shuts down and ignores schoolwork and friends, questioning why her mother left and blaming herself. Dad does not initially provide much comfort, closing himself off, too. As in Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000), father and daughter gradually grow closer together out of necessity and begin to pull together as a family. Rachel must accept the painful truth that her mother, who suffers from bipolar disorder, never really wanted to settle down or have children. Her father, who in the past had left most of the parenting to her mother, begins to play an active role in Rachel’s life and reveals his softer side, ultimately becoming more involved and affectionate. Written in straightforward language, the text clearly reveals Rachel’s emotions, describing moments both painful and reassuring. This novel will be therapeutic to children dealing with the loss of a parent or a mental illness.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Thank you to everyone who is supporting Hugging the Rock. It’s a real warm, fuzzy feeling when people read your book and then like it enough to tell someone else about. Blog posts, reviews, bookslists – they all add up. So if you have read Hugging the Rock and liked it enough to reccomend it to even just one person, you have made a difference and I’m grateful.
Original art by Susan Taylor Brown
