Getting Middle Schoolers Excited About Reading

By

Sherry Ellis

When kids are young, they are excited about books. Many even want to be authors when they grow up. I always chuckle during school visits when I ask the question, “Who wants to be an author when you grow up?” Inevitably, every hand goes up in the kindergarten and first grade groups. As the grade number goes up, the hand numbers go down. Middle-schoolers rarely have ambitions to become an author. Sometimes that also means they don’t enjoy reading. How can we get these kids excited about reading? Here are some tips teachers can use in their classrooms to get them motivated. 

1. Plan lessons around your favorite books and topics. If you’re excited about the book, that enthusiasm will show and may infect your students – in a good way!
2. Show students you’re reading, too. Post a picture of your current read on a board each week and encourage kids to ask about it. 
3. Maintain a classroom library. I see this in classrooms for the little kids all the time, but not so much in classrooms for older kids. Fill it with a wide variety of popular novels – books that would appeal to both boys and girls. Consider including shorter stories and some with illustrations that may appeal to reluctant readers.
4. Encourage independent reading by providing time to read. Have students set individual goals and reward students for reaching them. Don’t attach a grade to it though. Students may get turned off by that.
5. Watch movies of the books after reading them and compare the differences. 
6. Use audio books. Okay, so that’s not exactly reading, but it could get reluctant readers interested in books.
7. Implement classroom book clubs in which students get to choose what they want to read from a list of books and then get grouped with others who want to read the same thing. Give them some ideas for topics they can discuss that are related to the books. Encourage them to come up with their own.
8. After reading a book, have students participate in activities that help them flex their own creative muscles: imagine a different ending, write a letter to the main character referencing a specific scene, interview the villain, draw a map of the story’s setting, etc.
9. Introduce students to a popular new series. The cliff hangers might entice reluctant readers to keep reading.
10. Adopt an author. If students are excited about an author’s book, visit that author’s website and find out if that author can do a school visit or Skype visit. You can also see if that author has done any videos or webcasts that can be shown in the classroom.

With a little ingenuity, teachers can make reading fun, interesting, and engaging. And who knows? Maybe if a lot of teachers do this, the number of hands of middle-schoolers who want to be authors will go up!

Sherry Ellis - The Ghosts of Pompeii (in VOYAGERS)

Sherry Ellis is an award-winning author and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin, viola, and piano. when she is not writing or engaged in musical activities, she can be found doing household chores, hiking, or exploring the world.

Ellis' books include  Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her website at www.sherryellis.org.

A Flashback and Perhaps a Reveal

Where has this year gone?  It seems like mere weeks have passed since the Insecure Writer's Support Group announced the winners of the 2019 Anthology Contest, not a year ago.

Credit: wescreenplay.com

Flashback to December 4, 2019: 

Coming May 5, 2020 - Voyagers: The Third Ghost 

Middle grade historical/adventure

Featuring these stories and authors:

The Third Ghost – Yvonne Ventresca

Winter Days - Katharina Gerlach

Feathered Fire – Roland Clarke

The Ghosts of Pompeii – Sherry Ellis

Dare Double Dare – Louise MacBeath Barbour

The Blind Ship – Bish Denham

A World of Trouble – Rebecca M. Douglass

The Orchard - Beth Anderson Schuck

Return to Cahokia – L.T. Ward

Simon Grey and the Yamamba - Charles Kowalski

That was certainly a thrilling day for each of us ten authors featured in Voyagers: The Third Ghost!

I hope that the winners of the 2020 Anthology Contest will be revealed tomorrow on IWSG Day.  But like everyone else, I'll have to wait and see.

I'm out of the loop this year.

If the winners of the 2020 Anthology Contest are announced tomorrow, 

I'll come back and add them to this post.

Meanwhile, as blog coordinator for the 2019 winners, I'm giving my fellow authors a last twirl or leap in the spotlight.  They are a wonderfully diverse and talented group, and I am honored to be included among them.

Credit: cheezburger.com

One of the pleasures I have enjoyed most during this past year has been reading books published by the Voyagers authors.  If you, as a reader, have not treated yourself to the Voyagers stories or published books by these authors, you are missing out.

Here for a final bow are the ten authors who showcased their talents in the 2020 Insecure Writer's Support Group anthology Voyagers:  The Third Ghost.  Their juvenile fiction stories that earned them a place in the anthology are exciting, suspenseful, and surprising, and they range throughout time and place from from Hoboken to Pompeii, Port Royal, and Cahokia.

Yvonne Ventresca
"The Third Ghost"













Yvonne Ventresca is the author of the award-winning young adult novels Pandemic and Black Flowers, White Lies. In addition, Yvonne has written two nonfiction books and several stories selected for collections, including the previous IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can learn more at YvonneVentresca.com, where she features resources for writers.

Katharina Gerlach
"Winter Days"













Although Katharina Gerlach was born in the late sixties, she’s still a child at heart. She inherited her love of fairy tales and words from her mother, an ex-secretary and avid reader, and her love of all things nature and science from her father, an ex-forester. Memories of her rather interesting life in Germany flow back at the smallest trigger, even though she tends to merge her three brothers into one when she tells stories about their childhood adventures. And more often than not, she recalls events truthfully. Supported by her husband and her three children and distracted by her dog and grandchild, she currently writes stories of varying length in fantastical and historical genres. She runs the Indie Authors’ Advent Calendar each year, a free for all story feast.  Learn more about Katharina at katharinagerlach.com.

Roland Clarke
"Feathered Fire"








After diverse careers, Roland Clarke was an equestrian journalist and green activist when chronic illness hastened retirement. But he hasn’t stopped exploring rabbit holes and writing - mainly mysteries and alternative history. Roland and his wife – both avid gamers - now live in Idaho (USA) with their four fur-babies, although their hearts are in North Wales (UK).  His equestrian thriller Spiral of Hooves is an engaging mystery.  Learn more about Roland  at roland clarke.com.

Sherry Ellis
"The Ghosts of Pompeii"













Sherry Ellis is an award-winning author and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin, viola, and piano. when she is not writing or engaged in musical activities, she can be found doing household chores, hiking, or exploring the world.

Ellis' books include  Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her website at www.sherryellis.org.

Louise MacBeath Barbour
"Dare Double Dare"












Born in Nova Scotia and raised throughout eastern Canada, Louise is a writer and blogger who now lives in Colorado.  She writes fiction and nonfiction with the encouragement of her supportive husband.  A passion for reading, photography, geology, and travel round out her enthusiastic embrace of life.  "Dare Double Dare" is her first published middle grade story.  Learn more about Louise at her blog Standing Into Danger.

Charles Kowalski
"Simon Grey and the Yamamba"












Charles Kowalski invites you to read the full story of Simon, Oyuki, and their adventures through haunted Japan in Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts (Tokyo: Excalibur Books, 2019), and keep an eye out for sequels. In addition to middle-grade fantasy, Charles' thrillers for adults, Mind Virus and The Devil's Son, have won prizes and nominations including the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold Award, the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, and the Adventure Writers Grandmaster Award. Charles lives in Japan with his wife and two young Muses.  He invites you to his website simongreybooks.com.

Bish Denham
"The Blind Ship"













Bish Denham is from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where her family has lived for over a hundred years. The author of two middle grade novels and a collection of retold Jamaican Anansi stories, she says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book.”  Learn more about Bish at her blog bish-randomthoughts.blogspot.

Rebecca M. Douglass
"A World of Trouble"













Rebecca Douglass grew up in Idaho, Arizona, and Washington states, and now lives and writes in California. Her imagination resides where it pleases, in and out of this world. Her passions include backpacking, hiking, books, swimming, biking, and moderately adventurous travel. Rebecca has two grown sons and a husband with whom she travels. Rebecca is the author of the delightful Ninja Librarian books, as well as a picture book for outdoor families, a mystery series for the parents, and her middle-grade fantasy, Halitor the Hero. After more than seventeen years working at the library, she has retired still without learning all the secrets of the Ninja Librarian.  Learn more about Rebecca at her blog ninjalibrarian.com

       

Beth Anderson Schuck

"The Orchard"

Beth Anderson Schuck is a retired librarian who believes reading can take you anywhere. She writes historical fiction featuring willful female characters. Being in nature whether hiking, birdwatching or gardening makes her whole.  Visit Beth at twitter.com.

L.T. Ward
"Return to Cahokia"













LT hails from the Land of Corn, otherwise known as Central Illinois, where weather inspires her literary works. When not writing speculative fiction shorts and novels, she spends her days raising a brood of plague monsters (a.k.a. her children) as well as satisfying her never-ending thirst for knowledge through reading, meeting people, and first-hand life experiences.  Visit LT at Twitter: @Ltward

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue 

* * * * * * * * * *

Check out the holiday special of free books from our publisher 

Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.  You can buy a copy of Voyagers and get another book free:  http://www.dancinglemurpressllc.com/press-room

Buy 1 print book, get 1 print book free

Buy 1 eBook, get 1 eBook free

Buy 1 audio book, get 1 audio book free

Print & eBooks – must be purchased directly from Dancing Lemur Press’ website; free book must be same price or lower; when paying, note your desired free book in the comments section; free swag provided with print orders

Audio books – purchase from Audible, iTunes, or Amazon and send us your receipt stating your desired free audio book and we will send you a code for a free audio book; free audio book must be same price or lower

Inquiries AT dancinglemurpressllc DOT com

Offer good through December 10, 2020

Visit Dancing Lemur Press and explore our titles.

You can also order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 

at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95

EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic

Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/  - Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857

ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost

IWSG Anthologies Author Sherry Ellis Releases Her Latest Bubba and Squirt Adventure

Congratulations to
Voyagers author Sherry Ellis
on the release of her latest book,
Bubba and Squirt’s Mayan Adventure.
















If you have read this year's IWSG anthology VOYAGERS:  The Third Ghost, then you have already met the irrepressible Bubba and his plucky sister Squirt in Sherry's short story "Ghosts of Pompeii."

Bubba is no typical fourth grade boy.  He has a secret hole under a tree in the woods near his home in Ohio.  When Bubba dug the hole with a magic shovel his Grandpa found at a garage sale, he discovered a mysterious vortex, a portal that will take him anywhere he wants to go.  Sixth grader Squirt gets pulled into his adventures and does her best to keep him out of trouble until they find their way home.  But trouble and Bubba go together like spaghetti and meatballs, and impetuous Bubba doesn't always appreciate Miss Worry Wart's efforts.

Sherry Ellis introduced middle grade readers to Bubba and Squirt in her book Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China.  She has a knack for writing stories that appeal to young readers, especially those who are beginning to read chapter books.  Sherry's stories are fun, fast-paced, and entertaining.  What kids don't love volcanoes and earthquakes, ghosts and burial chambers, mysteries and high-stakes adventures?  Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure promises more fun and danger in exotic Belize.


Blurb
An ancient Mayan civilization!

That's what Bubba and Squirt find when they travel through the mysterious vortex for another wild adventure. There they meet archaeologists who are unearthing priceless artifacts.

But someone is stealing them. And an encounter with the Tate Duende awakens magic within Bubba. Throw in the mysterious Alux and a new discovery and things get sticky.

Will Bubba and Squirt solve the mystery, or will they be stuck forever in the jungles of Belize?


Sherry on Her Bubba and Squirt Stories
"I have always loved travelling and learning about the history, language, and culture of the places I visit. This prompted me to write a series of stories involving two siblings, Bubba and Squirt, who travel through a magical vortex and end up in places all over the world. It is my hope that these stories will teach kids about different countries in a fun way and help enforce what they learn in school.  I’ve been writing these stories for ten years. They are finally making it out into the world."

Bio

Sherry Ellis is an award-winning
author and professional musician who plays and teaches the violin, viola, and piano.


When she is not writing or
engaged in musical activities,
she can be found doing
household chores, hiking,
or exploring the world.

A Little More About Sherry Ellis
Ellis' books include Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure.

Sherry Ellis’ Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China won the Reader’s Favorites Silver Medal for the Children's Grades 4-6 category.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her websites at www.sherryellis.org and www.bubbaandsquirt.org.

Blog| Facebook| Goodreads| Twitter| Amazon

Some Short Reviews of Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure

“Readers will be mesmerized by the story. They’ll eagerly turn the pages to see what happens next.” - children’s author, Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

“Highly-recommended for fans of middle-grade Latin American fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and Mayan Indian culture.” - June McCrary Jacobs, author

“It is a very exciting book… It is right for middle-grade readers who aren’t advanced but are just starting reading chapter books.” – Kids Book Buzz, 5 stars

Where to Find Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure

Release date - September 15, 2020

$7.95, 6x9 trade paperback, 96 pages

Juvenile Fiction - Action Adventure (JUV001000)/Legends, Myths, Fables-Caribbean & Latin American(JUV012070)/Fantasy & Magic(JUV037000)

Print ISBN 9781939844705 / EBook ISBN 9781939844712

$3.99 EBook available in all formats

Links:
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083S1VQ14
ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/bubba-and-squirts-mayan-adventure/id1495108829
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bubba-and-squirts-mayan-adventure-sherry-ellis/1136013293?ean=9781939844705
Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bubba-and-squirt-s-mayan-adventure
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50624942-bubba-and-squirt-s-mayan-adventure 

* * * * * * * * * *

Coming on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 

Next week Voyagers author Rebecca Douglass will share some of the middle-grade books she has published.

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue 

Published Books, New Releases, and WIPs by the "Voyagers" Authors: This Week ~ Louise MacBeath Barbour

Over the coming weeks, the IWSG Anthology blog will be featuring posts from our winning authors in Voyagers:  The Third Ghost.  They'll be sharing their current works-in-progress (WIPs) along with other things they would like to share.  As blog coordinator for our Voyagers authors, I thought I should volunteer to go first.

First and foremost, I'm kicking myself.  Today is the deadline for the 2020 Anthology Contest, and I do not have an entry.  I didn't need a dramatic bolt from the black to get started like last year.  I was well underway.  I have a protagonist (Abby), a storyline (dark, existential matters), and a setting (a settlement by an underground lake in Planum Australe), and I've done a lot of research on Mars and the challenges of establishing a permanent human colony there.  But life intervened in July and into August, and I ran out of time. I'm still going to write my story:  It's a WIP.

Setting Near the South Pole Region of Mars, Planum Australe

Radar evidence at the site suggests the presence of an underground lake.

Wikipedia

My problem is not so much WIPs as Works Finished.  I have a lot of irons in the fire, but I need to pull one out and hammer it into shape!  I've made some huge leaps forward this year, and it's all thanks to winning a spot in the Voyagers anthology.  I've moved from regarding myself as a writer to seeing myself as an author.  Right now I'm working on my author's website, and it needs more than a short story to showcase!

I'm moving forward with optimism and with goals.  This year I'm going to participate in November's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and finish a project.  I've always hesitated to take NaNoWriMo on because November is such a busy month, but I figure I'll never have a better chance to do this than when stranded at home by Covid-19.  Furthermore, I've learned so much this year through the publication of Voyagers, that my confidence and belief in myself has soared.

My biggest WIP in my memoir of my family's time in Lansdowne House inland of James Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada.  I am currently taking a course from the University of Alberta, Indigenous Canada, because I want a better understanding of the First Nations peoples experience of that time.  Working on this memoir is certainly one of the most challenging things I have ever done, and I am determined to finish it.

My Brother Roy and I Canoeing on Lake Attawapskat

Lansdowne House, Northern Ontario, Canada

Spring 1961

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Another WIP of mine is a novel set in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Kansas. It is a multigenerational story of tragedy and perseverance connected to the Truxtun-Pollux naval disaster off Lawn on the Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland on February 18, 1942.  I learned about this heartrending story when I worked as a field geologist in nearby St. Lawrence in the summer of 1972.  The grandson of a man who helped in the rescue of drowning sailors told me the story of the wrecks of the Truxtun and the Pollux while we lying at the top of the Pinnacles looking down into Chambers Cove where the disaster occurred.  I was too scared to stand at the top of this cliff, and I had crawled on my belly to look down.  (The Pinnacles is the highest point in the photo below).

Chambers Cove, Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland

illrantandillroar

A third WIP of mine is a picture book tentatively called Along Piney Creek.  I have been photographing and studying the animals and plants in this open space for a decade.  Really, I have enough material now!

Mama Red-winged Blackbird

Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado

April 7, 2020

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

And I have more, but I won't embarrass myself further by detailing them.  What has been holding me back is a lack of confidence and a fear of failure.  But Voyagers and the journey it has taken me through this year has given me a huge boost, and I'm already hammering.

If you haven't read Voyagers:  The Third Ghost yet, I hope that you will.  Here's a blurb for my story which turned me from a writer into an author.  And there are nine other wonderful stories to go along with mine!

Blurb
Who can resist a dare to enter a forbidden room?  Sara and her brother Kelsey find themselves in dire circumstances a long way from home after a rash "Dare" and "Double Dare."

Bio
Born in Nova Scotia and raised throughout eastern Canada, Louise is a writer and blogger who lives with her supportive husband in Colorado.  She writes fiction and nonfiction. Her love of reading, photography, geology, and travel rounds out her enthusiastic embrace of life.

Blog|Facebook

Coming on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 . . .
Next up is Sherry Ellis who shares her new book Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure which will be released on September 15th.

* * * * * * * * * *

You can order VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost here: 

Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure / Fantasy & Magic
Dancing Lemur Press/Freedom Fox Press





Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/ Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857

ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost

"Voyagers: The Third Ghost" ~ A Great Book for the Middle-Grade Classroom!

If you cannot read fluently and with comprehension, you will have a tough time succeeding in today's world.  This fact drove me as a teacher throughout my twenty-five-year career in the classroom.  My constant goal was to improve the reading skills of each student I taught.  To accomplish this, I knew I had to hook each of them on reading, and my best lure was great books.

If I were not retired, I would choose Voyagers:  The third Ghost for my classroom with enthusiasm!  Please put aside the fact that I wrote one of the stories in this anthology.  I am wearing my teacher's hat and looking at the book objectively. 

I always filled my classroom with the best books I could find, every genre, every reading level, every subject.  I hunted for appealing books that supplemented the content of our curriculum.  I chose books to read aloud to the class, for the class to read together, for small group instruction, for buddy reading, and for silent reading.  I searched for books that matched the interests of my students; and if I found one that piqued the curiosity of a reluctant reader, I was thrilled.

                     The Anthology Containing My Short Story

                     "Dare Double Dare"

                         The IWSG on Instagram 

                         Background Photo by Louise MacBeath Barbour

                                     

Voyagers checks off each item on my list of criteria.  This collection of ten middle-grade stories is so varied!  Written for kids between the ages of eight and twelve (Grades 3-6), each story in the collection centers on a voyage that leads to a historical adventure.  Some stories will fill your heart, others will make you laugh, some will give you a chill, and some may introduce you to an unfamiliar place or time.

  

The stories crisscross the globe, cultures, and time.  There is something for everyone, and the possibilities for connecting to middle-grade subjects are numerous.  More importantly, the stories tackle some difficult topics with sensitivity and have an emotional impact.

As a teacher I could use this book so many ways.  I would chose a story to read aloud to the class, select other stories for small reading groups, pick another one or two to tie into curriculum subjects, and choose another for classroom discussion.  I could team my class up with a class at a different grade level, share a story, and do some fun activities together.  There is rich material in this book for lively discussion and debate, and the stories can be a jumping off point for all kinds of writing.  

Zharptica, the Mythical Firebird

in "Feathered Fire" by Roland Clarke

(The Second Sun by llifi-kei  Deviant Art)

To give you an idea of the variety and the richness of the stories in Voyagers: The Third Ghost, here is a list of the stories, with a brief description of their characters and historical settings.

"The Third Ghost" by Yvonne Ventresca:

Among the darkened, arson-damaged streets of Hoboken, New Jersey in 1981, Lewis stops to help two ghosts until he realizes his own family is in grave danger.

"The Ghosts of Pompeii" by Sherry Ellis:

Mount Vesuvius is about to erupt in 1944, and it's up to Bubba and Squirt to warn everyone, so they don't end up like the Ghosts of Pompeii.

"The Blind Ship" by Bish Denham:

Twelve-year-old Jacques experiences the impact of a highly contagious eye disease on a slave ship's cargo and crew as they sail from France to the Caribbean in 1819.

A Source of Inspiration for "The Blind Ship" by Bish Denham

"Dare Double Dare" by Louise MacBeath Barbour:

Sara and her brother Kelsey find themselves in dire circumstances at the Habitation in Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1605 after a rash "Dare" and "Double Dare."

  

"Return to Cahokia" by L.T. Ward:

Tonalli, a young Warm Weather God, embarks on a spring journey with her mother and siblings back to Cahokia in Pre-Columbian America.

"Feathered Fire" by Roland Clarke:

Two brave sisters Vasy and Kalyna, with the help of the mythical firebird, fight the Germans invading their Soviet motherland during WWII.

"The Orchard" by Beth Anderson Schuck:

Can Nels, with her magical connections to nature, and Della help each other survive in a remote area of Utah over a century ago?

Fruita Schoolhouse

 Capitol Reef National Park, Wayne County, Utah, United States.

Photo by Beth Schuck

"Simon Grey and the Yamamba" by Charles Kowalski:

Simon and his friend Oyuki try to escape a famous yokai monster on a mountain during their journey to Hirado in seventeenth century feudal Japan. 

"A World of Trouble" by Rebecca M. Douglass

Mattie and her friend Gordon get into serious trouble when they sneak off to the fair in Conconully, Washington to see an aeroplane fly in the early twentieth century. 

"Winter Days" by Katharina Gerlach:

On a Christmas visit in 1979, twelve-year-old Katie, whose father fled the German Democratic Republic 20 years earlier, fears her family’s arrest when a blizzard hits.

Border controls at the East German checkpoint Marienborn on December 1989

 Wikimedia Photo by Günter Mach ~ License

If you are looking for a great book for your middle-grade classroom or for a middle-grade reader in your life, check out Voyagers:  The Third Ghost.  You won't be disappointed!

Our next post will be on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. 

Stay healthy and well until then!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.  If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

                                                 Albert Einstein

* * * * * * * * * *

Reviews of Voyagers: The Third Ghost:

1. Check out lots of reviews and ratings at Goodreads.

2. Excerpts from Amazon reviews:

"It's been a long time since I've read a collection of various genre stories that had me so overwhelmed with emotion at the end, and the fact that it's a middle-grade collection still boggles my mind."

"What do slave ships, ghosts, time travel, Pompeii, WWII, aeroplanes, and the Iron Curtain have in common? They all appear in this absolutely fantastic collection of short stories by the Insecure Writer's Support Group."

"The amazing thing about themed anthologies is that, while there's a single theme, the stories are incredibly varied. In the case of Voyagers: The Third Ghost, not only are the stories varied, but each is well-crafted and engaging... All take the reader on a short, but rewarding journey."

You can order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 

at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95

EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic

Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/  - Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857

ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost

Favorite Writing Craft Books ~ Part 2

This week we have more great writing craft books to recommend, with more Voyager writers and IWSG founder Alex J. Cavanaugh sharing favorite references of theirs.  I'm going to have to expand my writing references shelves in my study bookcase.  That's a great problem to have ~ LOL.  Enjoy!

Favorite Writing Craft Books ...

Bish Denham

"The Blind Ship"

Favorite Writing Craft Books

I have approximately 30 books on writing which include everything from books on the mechanics of writing (grammar, punctuation, editing etc) to structure (the nuts and bolts of plotting a story or novel) to inspiration (how to get inspired to write or how to generate ideas.) Here are three of my favorites from each category.

Mechanics: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr and E.B. White

Structure: Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by K.M. Weiland

Inspiration: My all time most very favorite book, Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You, by Ray Bradbury.

Goodreads

Bio

Bish Denham is from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where her family has lived for over a hundred years. The author of two middle grade novels and a collection of retold Jamaican Anansi stories, she says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book.”

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Sherry Ellis

"The Ghosts of Pompeii"

Favorite Writing Craft Books

My favorite writing craft books are Save the Cat by Jessica Brody, which covers everything you need to know about writing novels and The Story Works Guide to Writing Character by Alida Winternheimer. This short book walks through how to create memorable, realistic characters who grow throughout a story. 

goodreads

Bio

Ellis' books include Don't Feed the Elephant; Ten Zany Birds; That Mama is a Grouch; That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN; Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China; and Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure. 

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about her work, she invites you to visit her websites at www.sherryellis.org and www.bubbaandsquirt.org.

diverse 

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Charles Kowalski

"Simon Grey and the Yamamba"

Favorite Writing Craft Books

One book I always have close at hand is Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write - a classic that I find myself dipping into whenever my writer's soul needs recentering. An excerpt:

"What's the use, we say, of doing anything unless you make money or get applause? Socrates and the men of the Renaissance decided that one's life should be devoted to 'the tendance of the Soul' (including intelligence, imagination, spirit, understanding, and personality), for the soul, in all probability, lived eternally. And so now I have established reasons why you should work from now on until you die, with real love and imagination and intelligence, at your writing or whatever work it is that you care about. If you do that, out of the mountains that you write some molehills may be published. Or you may make a fortune and win the Nobel Prize. But if NOTHING is ever published at all and you never make a cent, just the same, it will be good that you have worked."

goodreads

Bio
Charles Kowalski has published the full story of Simon, Oyuki and their adventures through haunted Japan in Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts.  In addition to to middle-grade fantasy, Charles' thrillers for adults, Mind Virus and The Devil’s Son, have won prizes and nominations including the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold Award, the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, and the Adventure Writers Grandmaster Award.

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Rebecca M. Douglass

"A World of Trouble"

Favorite Writing Craft Books 

The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig. An irreverent, often potty-mouthed take on all aspects for writing from planning and plotting to the final polish, all delivered in one- to two-paragraph nuggets you can flag and return to as needed.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. This book focuses on what to do when the first draft is finished, and offers samples to illustrate the points about tight writing. It doesn’t help as much with the big-picture issues of plotting and story arc, but offers a lot for strengthening character and voice.

And for formatting an ebook so it works, Mark Coker’s Smashwords Style Guide. A free ebook that tells you exactly how to make your ebook pass the Smashwords “meat grinder” that is the gate-keeper for distribution to pretty much every market out there. It focuses on MS Word (their preferred document format) for both PC and Mac. I learned a lot in there about how my word processor works!

goodreads

Bio

Rebecca is the author of the delightful Ninja Librarian books, as well as a picture book for outdoor families, a mystery series for the parents, and her middle-grade fantasy, Halitor the Hero.  After more than seventeen years working at the library, she has retired still without learning all the secrets of the Ninja Librarian.

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Louise MacBeath Barbour

"Dare Double Dare"

Favorite Writing Craft Books

Like most authors I have many writing craft books that I consult frequently, and a number of them have been recommended by my fellow Voyagers authors.  Here are three favorites of mine that haven't been mentioned by the others:

On Writing:  A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King:

King is a genius as far as I am concerned, and I have returned to his memoir on writing over and over.  It's entertaining and jam-packed with information on the basic tools every writer needs.  I'll share one King quote that emphasizes what I think is something a writer must never forget:  "So, okay--there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of your telephone.  You've blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come help or high water.  Now comes the big question:  What are you going to write about?  And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.  Anything at all ... as long as you tell the truth."  

Writing is a subject that many elementary teachers must teach.  Over my teaching career I was fortunate to learn from the best writing craft authors and children's book authors.  Often an excellent book about teaching writing to children taught me as well, because such a book explained writing concepts clearly, succinctly, and concretely.  There is nothing like teaching a subject to learn a subject!  Heinemann is the publisher for writing craft books for educators, and their authors are fabulous.  One of my favorites is Ralph Fletcher, and his classic book is What a Writer Needs.  One of the charms of this book is seeing examples of children's writing as  younger authors grapple with the same challenges I do as a writer.  Fletcher writes, "Of all the writer's habits, consistency may be the habit that matters most."  So very, very true!

I primarily write non-fiction, and I especially enjoy writing about science.  One of my favorite science craft writing books is Communicating Rocks:  Writing, Speaking, and Thinking About Geology by Peter Copeland.  Copeland does for geological writing what Struck and White do for general writing.  Copeland writes, "... the aphorism, attributed to Mark Twain, 'It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt' applies most of all to those who don't recognize that it does apply to them.  The good writer knows this might apply to her and works hard so that, most of the time, it doesn't."

goodreads

 

Bio

Born in Nova Scotia and raised throughout eastern Canada, Louise is a writer and blogger who now lives in Colorado.  She writes fiction and nonfiction with the encouragement of her supportive husband.  "Dare Double Dare" is her first middle grade story.

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Alex J. Cavanaugh

a.k.a. the Ninja Captain

Favorite Writing Craft Books 

A favorite of mine is Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder. It’s for screenwriting, but his fifteen beats fit novel writing perfectly. There’s also a sequel, Save the Cat! Strikes Back.  

goodreads

Bio

All of us in the Insecure Writer's Support Group know and appreciate its founder Alex J. Cavanaugh, a.k.a. the Ninja Captain.  He is a fan of all things science fiction, and his interests range from books and movies to music and games.  Alex has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design, graphics, and technical editing.  Alex is the author of Amazon bestsellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars.

Website| Insecure Writers Support Group| 
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Coming on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 

Next week I'll share some tips for writing a Teacher's Guide for juvenile fiction.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue 

* * * * * * * * * *

IWSG Members Supporting Fellow Members: 

The arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for Insecure Writer's Support Group members to promote and sell their books, because many conferences, conventions, and other events have been cancelled this year.  Yesterday, one of our members Chrys Fey had a great writing craft book released.  Chrys is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series and an editor for Dancing Lemur Press.  She is also a moderator for the The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club on Goodreads.  

When Chrys Fey shared her story about depression and burnout, it struck a chord with other writers. That put into perspective for her how desperate writers are to hear they aren’t alone. Many creative types experience these challenges, battling to recover. Let Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer's Block, Depression, and Burnout guide you through:

·         Writer's block

·         Depression

·         Writer's burnout

·         What a writer doesn’t need to succeed

·         Finding creativity boosts

With these sparks, you can begin your journey of rediscovering your creativity and get back to what you love - writing. 

Please help spread the news about her latest book!

Release date – July 14, 2020

$17.95, 6x9 trade paperback, 256 pages

Print ISBN 9781939844729 / EBook ISBN 9781939844736

Writing / Self-Help: Depression – Stress Management

Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer's Block, Depression, and Burnout

by Chrys Fey

Amazon

  

Reviews of Voyagers: The Third Ghost:

1. Check out lots of reviews and ratings at Goodreads.

You can order a copy of
VOYAGERS: The Third Ghost 

at the links below.

Print 9781939844729 $13.95

EBook 9781939844736 $4.99

Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure /
Fantasy & Magic

Amazon - Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/193984472X/  - Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Third-Ghost-Yvonne-Ventresca-ebook/dp/B083C4WPR5/

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voyagers-yvonne-ventresca/1135912991?ean=2940163430857

ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/voyagers-the-third-ghost/id1493413956

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/voyagers-the-third-ghost