Simple Saturday

How in the world can an author encapsulate the destructive brutality of war, the fascinating nuances of island life, the tenderness of familial loyalty, ancestral honor and tradition, a boy’s coming-of-age awareness of life, and the underpinning themes of integrity, loyalty, and honor in one small book? That’s a pretty big order to fill, wouldn’t you say? Well, I’ll tell you how Nancy Bo Flood did it…through the mesmerizing detailed use of incredible poetic prose. This book reads as rhythmically as waves lapping upon the shoreline, like the steady back and forth of a kayak in the sea, like a baby being rocked in its mother’s arms. Poignant and powerful, Warriors in the Crossfire propels the reader into a harsh awareness of devastating effects of war upon a tender community of indigenous people.  Perhaps the Flood’s thoughtful lulling is what is needed to make this terrible message palatable.

Each chapter begins with a poem that not only introduces the chapter’s theme, but adds layering depth to the story.   One of my favorites is entitled Journey (54). It reads:

Geckos chirped,

 Kingfishers squawked,

Dogs barked.

This is home.

War cannot come here.

Cannot.

Can you feel that rhythmic wave-like motion in her words? Back and forth, back and forth, only to come to a crashing halt with the final word ‘cannot’. Geckos…kingfishers…dogs…home… all colorful symbols of charmed island living. And then BOOM, a harsh foreshadowing of things to come…war…here…cannot, twice repeated. Dear reader, the entire book is laced through and through with astounding prose just like this!

How about one more? War reads (102):

Moonlight

Shines silver

Across breadfruit leaves,

Broken shards of light,

Broken dreams,

Broken.

Get the picture? All is beautiful – the silver light cascading across the breadfruit tree, the primary source of sustenance for the tropical island people of Saipan. And a turn transforms moonlight into glass-like shards slicing, ripping destroying all that was once cherished, sabotaging dreams, and shattering souls. Flood’s words certainly tear to heart, don’t they?

Putting poetics aside, in addition to creating believable, multi-dimensional characters, Flood manages to muster up a tidal wave of action, intrigue, and suspense, enough to keep even the most reluctant reader engaged. It is because readers easily connect with primary characters Kento and Joseph they are willing to wade through the wages of war … page after page after suspenseful page. I asked Nancy how was she able to inhabit the psyche of her primary characters, two very different boys, so effectively. She answered:

“Joseph and Kento were as different to me as their families and cultures. Once I identified, “what did they want. What did they live for…what would they risk death to achieve?” then I could anticipate their decisions, their reactions to obstacles, their choices of how they would succeed. Kento was quiet, careful, precise but also timid, unsure, hesitant. Joseph was action. Cross him and he would fight back. Joseph had a lot to learn but he was determined, stubborn, persistent and loyal. They were the best of friends until they each had to decide between family and friendship.”

When asked how she was able to write a compelling story as Warriors in the Crossfire, yet remain completely culturally convincing Nancy answered, “Years of research, I am embarrassed to admit how much or how long…Research is a lot more than just reading. I swam with turtles - and the sharks. I paddled out across the reef, got scared to death as shark circled our kayak. I tipped over my kayak in the deep sea beyond the reef and was terrified. That’s what Kento felt and it was no fun. Havin the shadow of a shark slide over you is terrifying. It was also part of research. Read it, live it, ask it. Then listen, listen, listen. Keep collecting images, sounds, smells, ideas, information. Remember the joy, kindle the passion, and begin writing.”

Regarding being culturally accurate Nancy states, “Who can write about another time in history, about another culture? Someone who can write with accuracy, authenticity, and respect. Someone who can see from a child’s point of view, who can relate historical events to children’s contemporary experiences. For example, the betrayal of friendship is historical and contemporary, as is the death of a parent….We all share universal challenges and experiences – birth, growth, relationships, change, and the ultimate change, death. We all experience bigotry, betrayal, prejudice, misunderstanding, discrimination, bullying as well as triumph and compassion.

“I wrote Warriors in the Crossfire not thinking about genre, if it was historical, multicultural, or multi-racial. It was an important story that was shared with me. I could not write about Joseph without writing about who he is, what makes up this person, Joseph – his people, family, traditions, navigators, the sea, the sea, the importance of Dance. I could not write about survival without writing about dance, spirituality, and family. That is how we all survive, with the strength given to us by traditions, beliefs, and family.”

In conclusion, Nancy left me with two words. One being Kanji – the power of the written word, and the second being Haiku – the power of poetry. I would add Warriors in the Crossfire – the power of Nancy Bo Flood’s poetic prose, a book that raises difficult ethical questions regarding the use of atomic weapons, considers the conflicts of cultures, and the ultimate loss of innocent lives, all the while caressing the reader in the comforting rhythmic poetic rocking motion of the sea.  

Bo Flood, Nancy. Warriors in the Crossfire. Honesdale: Frontstreet, 2010.                        

Color me grateful. I have had the great honor of creating a Teacher Craft Guide for Nancy Bo Flood's incredible non-fiction picture book entitled From Sand to Stone and Back Again. Working on this project brought me back to the wonderful days in my Montessori classroom sorting through biome nomenclature cards with a wee one by my side. You can relate to the wee one, I imagine. Not the cards. Let me explain.

Nancy's prose guides the reader through a vivid, colorful, dramatic, dynamic, transformational journey depicting the life-cycle of sand. Paired with Tony Kuyper's incredible photographs, this book is lively beyond words. Sand? Stone? Lively? Flood pulls it off. Really.

While reading, I could hear boulders crashing, arroyos swishing full of water after a rain, and feel the eerie awesomeness of slot canyons and hoo doos and goblins. With the child and the biome cards, I would dramatize each concept. No additional drama is needed with From Sand to Stone and Back Again in hand. The book is just that good.

Throughout Sand to Stone, Nancy skillfully brings the reader into the story. She reminds the child that they, too, are changing. That even the smallest grain of sand has monumental transformational power! Flood found a way to both inspire the child reader while presenting a non-fictional world with passionate perfection. Bravo!

My quest was to write a Teacher Guide that would celebrate the splendor of Nancy's and Tony's fine work. To do so, I fell back upon my Montessori roots by featuring Kruper's photos in a manipulative vocabulary game. Because I, too, desire to give the child the physical, tactile, transformational experience of changing sand to stone and back again, I lead the teacher through a sequential series of wonderfully messy craft activities. (And I had  BLAST doing this!) Lastly, to give the child an opportunity to express themselves through writing, a poetic creative writing lesson serves as a wrap up.

To learn more about From Sand to Stone and Back Again, read this fabulous Cynsations blog post about Nancy. To review my Teacher Guide you may click here.

When my pal, Jennifer Ziegler, asked me if I would interested in writing a discussion guide for her hot, hot, hot YA  How Not to be Popular I agreed to do it as a fellow writer and as a friend. She told me that librarians and teachers have been begging for one. And now, after completing the discussion guide,  I see why.

This book is more than a lively read; a clever, quirky tale; a fun weekend literary romp. This book is IMPORTANT! This book can make a difference in a kid's life. How Not to be Popular is a 'must read' for any teen struggling to make sense of the complicated social hierarchy so prevalent on today's high school campuses. Can you think of a teenager who isn't?

How Not to be Popular is a story about a girl who has to move often. After attending ten different high schools, she has decided it simply hurts too much to go through the effort of developing friendships only to ultimately have to leave. She's emotionally damaged. Her solution is to become unpopular. When she moves to Austin during her senior year, instead of seeking her usual status relationships with the cheerleader/dance teams types known as the 'Bippies', she sinks the the lowest level on the social food chain; the 'bottom feeders', the losers, the 'Helping Hands'.

There is tremendous depth to this novel...layers upon layers of metaphors, symbolism, paradoxical contradition, and plenty of oxymorons! Who can refuse a tasty oxymoron? How Not to be Popular is a study of the critical aspects required to live an authentic life, one that is free, honest, truthful, and all-out fun!

This book is one that, as a teacher, I would cherish and have the students read year after year after year. Oh...the things we could discuss. Things close to their hearts. I've been privileged to witness the positive, transformative affect a book can have on a kid.  How Not to be Popular is just that kind of book!

One very important aspect of writing for children is to do so in such a way that the child feels that they are part of the story. A writer attempts to craft phrases that stem from the private place within a child's budding persona. A few good writers have achieved this delicate and difficult task and Liz Scanlon is one of them. In her latest picture book (which, in my humble opinion, will stand the test of time) Liz does more than make a child feel part of a story, she's caressed their spirit. And I will tell you why I know this to be true.

Saturday I attended her launch at BookPeople along with a ba-zillion other excited folks. During which Liz sat down on a small stool in the  middle of a pool of at least 75 wiggly, chatty little ones. And, when she began to read a true hush fell over the rug-rat crowd. She spoke slowly and smiled often, engaging in eye contact as she turned the pages. Even the adults crowded on the periphery were wide-eyed, leaning in to catch Liz's every word.

Then the magic happened!

She read, "All the world can hold quite still," then carefully turned the page to read, "Nanas, papas, cousins, kin..." and a little boy, who could contain himself no longer shouted out, "I have a Nana!" While a quiet chuckle wave rippled through the crowd, Liz found that boy's eyes, smiled and said, "You do...and she's in the book!" That boy simply beamed! From his three-year-old-ish perspective, Liz had written that book for him, about him, to him. He was central to the moment the minute she began to read, a moment made magical because of Liz's All the World, so lovingly written and delightful to behold.